Frozen Dreams
by SwanMillsFiction
Summary: After the finale (3x22). Regina is walking alone in the park when a mysterious figure comes to join her in her solitude. A broken spirit just like her own, finds a perfect ally in the former Evil Queen. Can two frozen hearts find the way to rebuild their dreams and not shatter in the process? * Now officially FQ * Warning: Expect OOC.
1. Chapter 1

*DISCLAIMER* I own nothing. OUAT-FROZEN femslash.

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
****chapter 1**

* * *

Regina had left the diner and was walking alone in the park, after Robin Hood had reunited with his wife, lady Marion. Emma had brought her back from the Enchanted Forest and by doing that; she destroyed Regina's second chance at a possible happy ending. "Like mother, like daughter." The brunette sniffed and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, as she sat in one of the lonely benches facing the lake.

A chilly wind was blowing and she wrapped her arms around herself in a shiver. Not only was her heart cold again, but also the weather was becoming unforgiving. It wasn't a normal wind, however, and Regina could almost taste the magic swirling in the ambient. "What is this magic?" She mumbled and got up from the bench to walk toward the lake.

The moon was bright above her head and reflected a beautiful image over water. Regina looked down and saw her face reflected, quite beaten, with reddened eyes and traces of tears that had already dried on her cheeks. "Pull yourself together. You deserve much better than a silly romance with some thief." She told herself to repress the pain. But her tears continued to flow; heart not listening to what her brain was telling. A glistening tear fell from her cheek and landed over water, and Regina watched as the whole lake began to freeze. "What's happening?" She was stunned.

A blue and white glow started to emerge from the surface and Regina witnessed how ice rising from the lake turned into a lady dressed in royal attire. She looked from bottom to top at the woman in sky blue silk and she knew this lady could only come from their fairy tale land. "Looks like Miss Swan brought another souvenir from her honeymoon with the handless wonder." The brunette muttered and prepared herself for the worst; magic tickling her fingertips.

"Who are you?" Regina asked in a firm tone. "Who are YOU?" The other woman asked in return, mimicking Regina's tone. She was clearly not in the best mood after breaking free from her imprisonment.

"I am your Majesty, Queen of the Enchanted Forest." The dark woman said in regal manner. She didn't feel like that much anymore but, given judging for the looks of the other lady, it would make more sense then presenting herself as the Mayor of Storybrooke.

Greenish blue eyes stared in suspicion and eye-ed her up and down, trying to make something out of her strange modern wardrobe. "My name is Elsa; Queen of Arendelle." The younger monarch answered in a similar regal fashion. "I'm sorry but the Queen of Arendelle is Anna. I've never heard of an Elsa." Regina went in her memories. As Queen, she had knowledge of every realm's rulers and she had never heard of one with that name.

Elsa felt irritated by her comment but at the same time was conflicted. She looked down to the frozen water and brought her hands to her chest. "That's because they banished me after discovering I had magic." The blonde said with sadness.

Regina looked closely at her gesture and felt sympathy for the broken girl before her. She kind of reminded her of herself when she was younger and hopeless; trapped in mother's leash. And then she remembered Zelena, who was dumped like a piece of garbage by Cora, all because she didn't suit her needs. Not being wanted or accepted by your own family, for who you were, was a terrible fate and she couldn't relate more to this dethroned Queen. "I'm sorry." Was all Regina could tell her.

"This isn't the Enchanted Forest. Where am I?" Elsa asked with confusion as she looked at the surroundings. "No, it's not. You are in Storybrooke." Regina replied and removed her black gloves from her hands. "Would you like to come home with me?" Regina offered. She knew well how it felt like to be an outcast. "It's getting colder." The brunette noted. "The cold doesn't bother me... Actually, it is my fault the lake has frozen." Elsa shrugged and offered an apologetic smile. "But the night is falling and I think you could use a warm bed after the trip you've just made." Regina extended a hand to her. "Come."

Elsa looked at the hand warily but took it. Regina somehow inspired her confidence and she stepped outside of the frozen lake and immediately retrieved her hand from Regina's. "Thank you." She said with a faint blush on her cheeks. "You're welcome." Regina half smiled.

Regina noticed how with every step they made, the grass beneath them turned to ice, but the girl's hand had felt warm inside hers. It was something Regina didn't really pay much mind to, but Elsa did. How could her magic not have affected Regina? She was puzzled.

"What is that thing?" The blonde asked with curiosity, looking at the black Mercedes Regina was headed to. "It is a car… rriage from this world." The brunette answered warmly and opened the passenger door for her. "This world?" Elsa asked in bewilderment while getting inside. "Yes. You crossed dimensions, but I will explain that later." Regina responded and turned the key to start the engine, what made the blonde jump in her seat from the spook of the un-familiar noise.

Regina smiled gently and drove the way to 108 on Mifflin Street, to bring her new guest and provide her a warm bed. She was still upset after meeting lady Marian, so focusing on this new resident of Storybrooke helped her get distracted from the hurt. It also helped they were resembled broken spirits and she thought it was best to become allies, rather than enemies.

Regina parked the car and went to open the door for Elsa, but when she looked at the blonde, her heart swelled when she saw she had fallen asleep during the ride. "Elsa." Regina squeezed lightly on her shoulder to awaken her.

Elsa wasn't used to being touched and she immediately grabbed onto Regina's forearm and her magic started to swirl around it. Ice began to cover Regina's entire arm as the girl tried focused her blurry sight. "Majesty! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!" Elsa cried out feeling guilty and embarrassed as she retrieved her hand.

"It's alright, Elsa." Regina told her and hovered her left hand over the frozen right, to make ice melt and she could flex her fingers without a problem. "You can use magic?" Elsa's eyes opened widely. "Yes. Now, let's get inside, dear." Regina offered her hand again and Elsa smiled shyly as she took it.

Both Queens went inside the manor and Elsa's eyes couldn't stop from going all around the place. It was very different from what she was used to see, but with some decorative accents that kept a resemblance to the Victorian style she had in her own palace.

"Your castle is quite beautiful, Highness. A little small, but charming non-the-less." Elsa told her as her hand caressed the cushion of the sofa she was sitting in. "It's Regina. And it doesn't feel as small when you're living in it alone." Regina shared with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Regina? But, you said you were the Queen of the Enchanted Forest… Isn't that Snow White?" Elsa immediately stood up and put her hands forward, magic swirling around them. "I am not the Evil Queen anymore but if you want to kill me, go right ahead. I no longer care." Regina said tiredly, leaning against the cream colored wall behind her.

Elsa looked at Regina with confusion and lowered her hands. The ice that had began covering wooden floors started to fade and she slowly walked closer to the brunette. "I'm sorry… it's just… difficult with the reputation that precedes you." She said and felt incredibly bad about even sharing that excuse. "I know." Regina muttered. "Would you still like a room, or should I lock you in my dungeon?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. "I... I'd prefer the room, Regina." The blonde smiled warmly and locked her greenish gaze in brown for a moment.

Regina nodded and signaled the lady to follow after her. They moved upstairs and Regina showed her the guest room. She showed her where the blankets and towels were and even let her borrow one of her silk pajamas. This woman was royalty, just like her, and could tell the difference between sateen and real satin silk, so Regina just summoned her best for the young woman. "Sleep well." Regina said after showing her how to turn off the lights and leaving the room.

* * *

In the morning, the smell of coffee traveled the air and Elsa's nostrils picked up on the scent. She slowly opened her eyelids and started to follow the alluring fragrance downstairs, not even bothering to make herself presentable for her hostess. They weren't in their fairytale land and formalities were kind of boring so early in the morning.

She peeked her head into the kitchen and watched as Regina begun cracking eggs to make an omelet. "Good morning." The blonde said shyly from the entrance. "Did you have a good sleep?" Regina asked her without turning around, as she was paying careful attention to her perfect breakfast. "The best ever." Elsa said while she stretched and yawned. "I'm glad to hear that." Regina told her and smiled faintly.

The doorbell interrupted the silence in the manor and Regina asked Elsa to help her with the omelet, so she could attend to the person calling. "I have… never…" Elsa was saying when Regina completed for her. "Been into a kitchen, I figure." Regina wasn't shocked because such was the life of a born regnant. "Could you please attend to the door for me?" Regina asked instead. "Indeed I could." She answered politely and made her way to the entrance.

She turned the knob an opened the door to greet the visitor. A tall blonde looked at her from top to bottom and then up again. Emma saw messy hair and silk grey pajamas she knew belonged to the Mayor. One Henry had once shared with her so she could wear something different for a change, back when she just came to Storybrooke herself. Emma's brow furrowed in disgust and she took a step forward, trying to look behind the younger woman.

"Ummm... Hi. Regina home?" The older woman asked dryly. "Yes. And it is her Majesty." The younger blonde answered sharply and sized the other woman as well.

Emma rolled her eyes and remembered two days before, when Regina had said the same thing to her. Well, not Regina, the Evil Queen from the Past. _Wait a minute! Who is this new chick in town and why did she refer to Regina as her Majesty? Could it be someone from the past? Fuck!_ Emma realized she never went to check if the portal had closed completely after they left. _Crap! I'm in even deeper shit._ Emma said inside her head. "I need to speak to her." Emma pushed her aside and started calling for Regina.

Emma picked up on the smell of food and knew just were to find the Mayor. She went into the kitchen and called Regina's name again with Elsa running behind her enraged, telling her degrading labels Emma didn't even understand, but most of them reduced her to a peon, peasant or just a commoner with no manners.

"Miss Swan... Inviting yourself over. How lovely." Regina said sarcastically as she dried her hands with a towel and turned off the stove. "I didn't come for breakfast. I need to talk to you." Emma told her slowly. "In private." The mature blonde spared a glance at the young woman with arms crossed. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of... my friend, unless it concerns Henry." Regina said with fake serenity, brow furrowing.

"Okay. Who the hell is this... person?" Emma asked angrily as she pointed at Elsa with a hand, clearly bothered by her presence. "Regina, why do you let a peasant speak to you with that tone?" Elsa protested and moved to stand beside the brunette. "That is no way to address royalty." Elsa scolded, feeling for some reason highly upset by the other woman's intrusion. "Seriously? Who are you, little miss princess brat?" Emma muttered. "How dare you! I'm Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle. Show some respect." The younger woman proclaimed.

"What the hell? She's real, too?" Emma turned to look at Regina incredulously. "I could show you just how real I am!" Elsa pointed at her with a finger but involuntarily sent several crystals of ice flying in direction of the Savior. But Regina was ready for an outburst like that and she used her magic to turn the stalactites into snow as they traveled the air and allowed them to hit Emma in her face and chest painfully. "Hey! Let it go!" Emma complained.

"I came here to apologize, Regina." The older blonde blurted as she cleaned her blue leather jacket with one of Regina's towels. "About last night. I really didn't know who she was." Her tone was softer this time and her gaze apologetic. "Get out of my sight before I regret sparing your life." Regina yelled with a broken voice, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Regina, please." Emma could feel her own eyes filling with water. "We can't be like this. Think about our son." Emma pleaded. "GET OUT!" Regina screamed and Emma turned around with hesitation to leave the building, but did as Regina ordered.

"What was all of that?" Elsa put a hand over Regina's shoulder gently. "Emma Swan. That's what happened." Regina's voice was gritty while she continued crying.

* * *

_Elsa may appear prissy/annoying in the beginning but that's because she just got out of a fricking urn and is defensive._


	2. Chapter 2

_* I'm astonished with the quick response and positive enforcement! TY!  
* Happily surprised to find so many Frozen Queen shippers! SQ vs FQ soon.  
_

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
****Chapter 2**

* * *

"Emma Swan. That's what happened." Regina's voice was gritty while she continued crying. "Is she the reason why you were crying by the lake?" Elsa asked her with genuine concern. "Yes." She answered weakly. "Would you mind sharing? Some times it is good to have someone to talk to." The blonde asked shyly and was hopeful Regina would open up to her. For some reason, she needed to hear her story.

"With one condition." Regina wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and went to serve the omelets on each plate. "Anything." Elsa looked closely. "Please make yourself presentable." Regina pleaded and the younger woman hadn't blushed redder in her life. "Oh dear! I completely forgot." The woman ran upstairs and tried to remember how Regina explained to use the shower.

"Is everything alright up there?" Regina asked from the stairs after hearing the young queen's squeal. "Huh... yes. Sort of. Is it normal it is sprinkling water everywhere?" The woman asked loudly. "I'm coming to check." Regina answered and made it to the guest room. She knocked on the door to the bathroom and Elsa told her to come in.

Regina entered and blinked eyes when she saw the woman standing there with no more than wavy long platinum hair cascading over her assets to cover just enough. "Ahem." Regina cleared her throat and remembered some of the princesses were used to having a maid help them in their baths and it wasn't something that made them embarrassed.

The Arendellian had turned the water to sprinkle from the hose hanging in the wall and it was, indeed, splashing everywhere. Regina turned on the right knob and water started coming from the shower in the ceiling like a rainfall, but it was really cold and she adjusted it to a warmer temperature.

"This is shampoo for your hair. It goes before the conditioner, which is the one with the thicker texture." Regina showed her. "And this is soap!" Elsa grabbed a perfumed bar from the counter. "At last, something I am familiar with." She exhaled deeply. "I prefer this." She said to the brunette with relief. "Then everything is set. I will wait for you downstairs." Regina told her and turned around to leave.

"You're not... going to help me?" Elsa asked nervously. "How will I get my back?" She asked her with honest worry and Regina blushed lightly. The brunette then summoned a soft brush with a long handle and placed it in the other woman's hands. "With this. It is wonderful." She smiled and made her way out.

* * *

Regina moved to place the meals over the table in the dinning room after re-heating them in the microwave. "Could you bring the coffee cups, please?" She asked and Elsa followed after the brunette. She set the elegant white cups in the corner of their placemats and took the seat next to Regina to have breakfast.

"She spoke about a son you both share. Did you conceive him through magic?" The blonde commented and her cheeks flushed rosy pink. "In a way, yes, but it is not what you're thinking. It's much more complex." Regina could read the younger woman's expression and wondered how to elaborate. She started telling her about how she'd come to Storybrooke, or rather; how she created the small town in the middle of 'nowhere' Maine.

She shared with Elsa how her thirst for revenge pushed her to the limits until she enacted the Dark Curse her mentor provided. "I'm not proud of having given into darkness." The brunette told her and sipped from her black coffee. "But I don't regret it either, because it got me my son." The now composed lady told her. "Miss Swan was destined to break the curse because that was how he designed it." Regina dabbed the corner of her lip with a napkin elegantly.

"I heard stories about you while growing up." Elsa shared and looked at the black brew in her cup with shame. "Let me guess. The kind some parents use to spook their children." Regina was unimpressed and took a bite at her meal. "Well, yes. I think my father feared I would turn into an evil queen with a heart of ice." The younger woman said and swirled her spoon inside the small cup pensively.

Regina noticed the pained expression in Elsa's face and she remembered her own desolation whenever Cora pointed out how disappointed she was in her. The Mayor slipped a hand across the table and placed it atop of the other woman's to distract her from the hurtful memories. Elsa looked at the hand resting over hers and felt her heart skip a beat. It was such a foreign sensation that it made her magic tickle in her fingertips with nervousness and the hand that had been stirring her coffee, sent a sparkling light that turned the liquid into hard ice.

"You don't have a frozen heart, Elsa. You just don't know how to control your magic." Regina told her and squeezed her hand gently.

Regina was the second person to show her kindness, after her very own parents had forced her to wear a pair of enchanted gloves from an early age to seal her magic and everyone in the palace avoided touching her at all, including the people who brought her into the world.

Warmth was an old time memory from when her little sister used to beg her to play building snowmen in secret with her magic, but that had stopped when they had their little incident. "I didn't mean to hurt her, but my parents refused to believe me." She told Regina and curled her hands into fists. "And what happened?" Regina felt intrigued by her story; it seemed like Cora wasn't the only parent punishing with magic.

Elsa told her she hid her parents' carriage to follow them one night when they went into the depths of the forest to meet with a dark wizard. She watched them argue over a deal they had made and how his gloves had come to fail. The fearsome warlock told them the girl's magic was only going to grow bigger and they would have to find another way to conceal it, or guide it. He told them to let him become her mentor but the King and Queen refused to accept such an offer.

* * *

(Flashback)

"Not even if you lock her, will you be able to control her." The warlock told them. He then summoned a brass urn and presented it to the Monarch. "This is enchanted with a spell that can keep her contained, in case she slips out of hand. Literally." The imp chuckled queerly at the image in his mind. "But the price will be steep." He grimaced.

The Queen turned to look at the King with anguish and told him not to accept it, but he was more preoccupied for his kingdom, as his realm didn't support the use of magic. If they found out the princess was a natural wielder, a mob could arise to dethrone the current rulers and hang them together with their linage.

"How much gold do you want?" King Agdar asked him. "You see, *I* make gold. It is not a fortune what I'm after." Rumplestiltskin told him. "Then what is it?" The King asked firmly. "Time is a far more precious treasure, Highness. I want twenty years from each of your lives to keep for myself." The Dark One said after seeing something in his visions.

"No!" Queen Idun yelled. "I am not lowering my price, dearie." Rumplestiltskin sing-song. "It is our only resort, Idun." Her husband told her. "Will she die in that prison?" The Queen asked the warlock with despair. "No. It will be like being frozen in time... Not a day would go by for her, my Queen." The evil imp grinned his yellow crooked teeth.

Queen Idun looked at her husband with worry and then at the brass urn the dark wizard was holding. She took a deep breath and then gathered the courage to accept the deal. "If there is no other way." She wrapped her arms around her torso. "It is your decision, Agdar." She told him and sighed deeply.

"Do we have a deal?" Rumplestiltskin extended his hand to the King. "Yes. I would rather have my daughter frozen in time than rotting by your side." The regal man answered and didn't shake the wizard's hand. Rumplestiltskin feigned to feel offended but he was content to have made the deal. He placed the urn in the King's hands and a crimson smoke swirled around father and mother, taking away the lifespan they had accorded and most of the wizard's wrinkles faded away.

"When the time comes, I will collect that urn you now hold." He told them and vanished from their sight.

* * *

(Present)

"Your dark wizard sounds an awful lot like to my mentor." Regina told her and started considering the possibility. All of what Elsa shared had Rumplestiltskin's signature in it. Maybe this young queen had been another of his prospects to cast the curse for him, but it didn't make much sense as she still looked to be around her middle twenties and Regina had cast the curse a good three decades ago. _How long could she have been trapped inside that urn?_

"That was some time ago but I'm sure I would recognize his face if we crossed paths." The blonde said with a mature lower voice and her iris flickered silver momentarily. "How was your breakfast?" Regina asked to change the subject because she could sense the magic swirling around her. "Worthy of a Queen, thank you." Elsa grinned contently and dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

Regina got up from her seat and leaned over Elsa to pick up her empty plate. The blonde questioned why she didn't have any servants in her palace and the brunette smiled lightly. "Because I am selective of whom I bring home and I prefer to work my own magic in the kitchen." Regina winked an eye and it gave the blonde all the wrong messages.

Elsa's eyes inevitably noticed the hint of cleavage from the mature woman's slightly unbuttoned blouse and her face flushed pink, getting all sort of indecent pictures in her mind. She licked her suddenly dry lips and looked back into chocolaty eyes. "I never heard of household magic. I am curious to see all your tricks in action." She asked her not so innocently and held her stare waiting to see her reaction.

Could Regina be into women like she was? It was worth a shot. She had gotten that vibe the moment Emma made her appearance earlier and noticed their strangely domestic interaction. It wasn't a two enemies encounter, it had looked more like divorced partners. It struck her that moment. What if Regina felt something for this insensible wench that had ruined her chance at a happy ending? _"No…"_ She said in her inside._ "I won't allow her to hurt her any further."_ She made an internal vow.

Regina was unsure of the implications in Elsa's request. Was she getting the wrong message from the younger woman next to her? It must certainly be so. There was no logic in reading in between lines that must surely not even be there. However, the idea wasn't completely disgusting. Quite the contrary, actually, and Regina's eyes studied the delicate features of the regal lady of Arendelle.

"Of course. Follow me." The brunette smirked. She strutted toward the kitchen and put the dishes inside a strange box built into the cabinets and when she pressed a button, the sound of water started coming from the machine. "Now we can walk away and when we come back, they will be squeaky clean." Regina smiled. "Did you enchant that box?" Elsa looked with wonder. "Not really, dear. It is called a dishwasher and it is a commodity from this world." Regina told her and started walking toward the door. "Your world is fantastic!" Elsa exclaimed and felt excited to go outside and absorb everything it had to offer.


	3. Chapter 3

_- Thanks for continuing reading and commenting. I love reading you!__  
_

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
****Chapter 3**

* * *

Regina parked her car outside the station and opened the door to let Elsa enter the building before her. Mayor and guest moved with grace down the hallway and ignored the Deputy coming their way from the desk facing the small jail. David was inside the Sheriff's office and just noticed when Emma huffed and went to sit down again in her new "old" desk. "Was that?" The Sheriff asked his daughter from the office after hearing the sound of heels down the corridor. "Regina." Emma completed for him, followed by a heavy sigh.

After Regina turned the lights on in her office, Elsa entered the large room behind her. "Do you rule your kingdom from here?" She asked the brunette after spotting a desk in the far back. "Yes." Regina answered and chuckled gracefully. "Is that your throne?" The blonde continued. "Correct. This is the Mayor's office, as we call it around here." Regina told her and clasped her fingers to make the hearth glow with new fire. The temperature in all of Storybrooke had mysteriously dropped and entering her office felt like you had gone inside the fridge.

Elsa's eyes then went to her fireplace and noticed the white horse sitting in a niche above it. She figured it was an ornament that served as a memory of Regina's stable boy and curious eyes continued inspecting the surrounding. She took her time to appreciate the wallpaper with slender tall trees and decided to comment on it. "Reminiscent of the Enchanted Forest, I see." She said and Regina smiled proudly.

"Yes, I see you have a good eye for detail." The Mayor was pleased to confirm Elsa was no common lady and she had paid close attention when Regina shared her story with her. No one had ever noticed how much of Regina's life was reflected in that seemingly cold detached office.

In the other side of the building, Emma continued tapping on her desk with a pen anxiously. David had looked at her from time to time but decided to ignore it for a while. The noise didn't really annoy him; it was her anxiety what made him troubled and he finally commented on it. "Why don't you try again?" His father said as he walked out of the tiny office and leaned against the doorframe.

"She hates me, dad. She might throw a fireball and burn me." Emma told him remembering how she saw her do it with her mother tied to a stake in her little trip to the past. "Or her new friend could send a blizzard my way." Emma muttered.

"New friend?" Her father asked with curiosity. "Yeah… see… I might have brought an Ice Queen from the past without knowing." The blonde bit her lip nervously. "And you were planning to tell me when the whole town froze over?" David immediately started moving in direction of the Mayor's office to confront Regina about her new ally.

"Wait. Don't! You're going to piss her off even more." Emma shot up from her desk and pulled on his arm to stop him. "I will fix this mess I started." She grumbled and gathered the courage to knock on the Mayor's door once… twice… and a third time with no answer. "Screw it." Emma muttered and slowly pushed the door open to enter the room carefully.

"I love that mirror on the wall." Elsa commented and moved closer to have a look. "It is so elegant and beautiful." The lady pointed at the metal frame and Regina came very close behind her. "Not as much as the image it reflects." She told her behind the ear and made Elsa's skin get covered in goose bumps. Regina's hand gently placed a hand over the younger woman's shoulder and Emma was baffled by what she had heard and was seeing.

What the hell is going on? Emma asked in her inside. Did I change anything else in the past that I'm not aware of? She questioned herself but, for some unknown reason, the proximity between the Mayor and her new friend made her stomach twist with fury and the Deputy had to clear her throat loudly to make her presence noticed. "Ahem."

Regina turned around quickly and her gaze set in green burning with anger. "Miss Swan. Didn't anyone in all of the countless foster homes teach you to knock before you enter?" The brunette questioned while walking dangerously stiffly in her direction.

Emma rolled her eyes at the Mayor, knowing just how much that would irk her but still didn't care. This was no longer about Robin and Marian. No… This was something different altogether and Emma's eyes pierced into a similar green gaze like hers. She stared at Elsa without answering Regina and could see the same loathing mirrored in younger eyes.

"What do you want, Miss Swan?" Regina huffed and tapped her heel on the cold marble as if she was in a hurry. She crossed her arms before her and clenched her teeth waiting for an answer.

"I just wanted to make amends with you, Regina. I am so-" Emma began telling when the brunette interrupted. "Sorry? I already heard that. Why don't you try something new for a change, Miss Swan? Something called… self-restrain." Regina told her sharply.

"But I-" Emma tried to defend herself. "YOU will leave now my office or so help me." The Mayor said firmly and Emma remembered her first days as Sheriff and their constant bickering. "Or what? You'll punish me? I thought we were beyond that, Madam Mayor." Emma confronted her.

"How dare you speak to Regina that way." Elsa answered before Regina and stepped in between them; eyes glowing silver as she held her stare in Emma's non-moving; hands glowing brightly. A sudden crackle started sounding and Emma felt a wave of cold air swirl around her. Ice began to rise from marble flooring and it entrapped the Savior's legs inside it. "What's happening?" Emma looked at her limbs with shock and turned to lock her gaze in dark brown.

Regina was taken by surprise, as she had been dwelling in her own burning anger. She looked at the ice covering Emma's body and became worried for Henry's birthmother. He would never forgive her if she let something bad happen to Emma. He could run away and choose the two idiots and never go back home with her again.

"Please, Elsa, stop." Regina gently placed a hand in her forearm. "Why do you defend her?" Elsa questioned. "Because it is… the right thing to do. Henry would never forgive me." Regina answered against her own pride and Elsa's magic started to subdue.

Elsa strutted very close to Emma and her face came just mere inches from the other woman's. "I will let it go for now, Savior." She said in an almost whisper. "But if you ever dare talking to her like that again, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do." The younger blonde muttered from clenched teeth and stepped back slowly. The ice keeping her hostage started to fade away and the deputy could move her extremities again.

Regina was stunned by the way Elsa reacted to Emma's confrontation and even more surprised to see someone protect her with the same passion she had once guarded Henry from exactly the same person and remained silent for a long moment.

Emma steeled her jaw and closed her hands into fists feeling impotent. She wasn't pissed; no… she was way beyond that. She wanted to turn Elsa into a snowball and shoot her through the window until she was out of sight and completely out of their lives.

Why is this bitch here anyway? Who let her through the portal? "Not me, that's for sure." She answered herself mentally. She watched when Hook jumped into the wormhole with only Marian on his shoulder, it couldn't have been him either. Could it have been Rumplestiltskin? She wondered. No one else had been in that vault with them.

"Don't worry, Majesties." Emma marked her words sarcastically. "I won't be bothering you any longer." She turned on her heel. "I know the way out." She muttered and slammed the door behind her, making glass shatter that had otherwise survived two curses.

"How did… that go?" David asked worriedly while watching Emma grab her car keys from the desk. "How do you think?" Emma blurted and left the station.

* * *

At the Pawnbroker's

The door in the entrance chimed and Belle went to greet the customer that had arrived to the shop. "Emma?" The book enthusiast was taken by surprise. She knew Emma, or any of the Charmings, only came here whenever there was trouble. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked her worriedly.

"Hi. Is Mr. Gold here?" The blonde asked her while letting her eyes travel the shop looking at all the relics. "Yes, let me call him." Belle answered and went to the back of the shop.

"Anything I can do for you, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin asked as he came out of the office. "Yes." The woman said while she was holding an old lamp that looked very resembled to the one from Aladdin's tale. "I have a few questions to make you." She answered. "I can offer you a good deal on that precious relic if you like it, Emma." The mature man grinned with amusement.

"I'm not here for décor." Emma left the lamp where it had been sitting previously. "Well, I merely suggested since I heard you have already found a love nest for you and the pirate." He grimaced. He still held a grudge of sorts toward Hook and the loss of Neal was still painful, and seeing Emma get over his son so quickly made him slightly bothered.

"Of course you did." Emma rolled her eyes and walked closer to the cashier where the old man stood calmly. "There is no love nest. It will be a home for me and Henry." She told him dryly after picking on his negative. "And it should be me the one getting answers." She muttered. "What can you tell me about the Queen of Arendelle?" Emma looked intently into hazel eyes.

"Has it come to that, dearie? Using your superpower on your son's grandfather?" He smirked, enjoying the expression in her face. "Are you going to tell me or do I need to punch you in the face to get some answers?" Emma blurted and Rumplestiltskin sneered contently.

"The Queen of Arendelle… Lovely lady. She is a woman who knows how to please a King." He chuckled. "To the point, Gold." Emma tapped her fingers over the crystal surface of his display.

"She was a brave woman with only one little weakness… her specious need to have a man by her side." He looked at Emma and winked his eye. "And?" Emma glared feeling very annoyed by the indirect. "You see… Her heart was her weakness. It went missing a day before announcing her engagement with a, what would you call it? Devilishly handsome prince named Hans." He baited but Emma didn't fall for his game.

"Wait. That would be Anna. I am asking you about Elsa." Emma's brow furrowed and she narrowed her eyes on him. "How do you know about Elsa?" He leaned forward and his hand stopped Emma's fingers from tapping over his display. "Doesn't matter how. I just do. Tell me all you know about her." Emma muttered.

"Sorry, dearie, but if you're not planning to buy something, I am going to have to ask you to leave. Please." The old man said with bitterness. "Now that I think about it, I could use an oil lamp in my love nest." Emma returned with sass and brought the lamp she had been staring at before. "Now, tell me. What is Elsa's weakness?" Jade eyes pierced in hazel.

"Well, you are one smart woman, Emma. Figure it out." The angry man answered and pushed a small box with the oil lamp inside toward her. "This is on the house." He said from clenched teeth. "Now, leave."

Emma took the box from the counter and made it to the same door from where she'd entered. She turned around for a moment to look at Gold with suspicion. "What did you do to her?" She asked dryly. "Nothing that concerns you, Savior." Rumplestiltskin muttered.

* * *

At Granny's

Emma was still upset after her unsuccessful meeting with the Mayor that morning... and afternoon, but she was even more troubled after her un-charming reunion with Mr. Gold. She was leaning by the counter when Ruby came to ask her if she wanted to order anything else.

"Hey. I know Granny only has them in the morning, but could you please snatch me a bear claw? I really need something sweet right now." Emma begged her.

Ruby noticed her strained expression and leaned down to secretly ask her friend about it, as the place was somewhat packed because of the hour. It was dinnertime and almost no one in Storybrooke liked being home at that hour and Granny's was the only diner in the small town to gather. It was either that or the rabbit hole.

"Emma, you look like shit, no offense." The brunette blurted. "What happened? Hook not meeting your expectations?" She asked her and waved a hand at Henry sitting in one of the booths across from Hook. She had to force a smile at the pirate when he glanced at her but her glare gave it away she wasn't supportive of that relationship.

"Whoa. Thanks for the honesty, friend." Emma replied feeling offended and sighed deeply. "It isn't Hook, it's Regina." Emma's gaze turned to rest on a glass jar full of colorful jellybeans.

The little bell that announced whenever the door to the old diner opened chimed and Emma turned to look at the newcomers to avoid Ruby's excruciating stare demanding answers. Bad idea, that was. Her face immediately contorted when her own eyes were fixed in the annoyingly beautiful blonde entering before Regina. Her jaw steeled and her body tensed, and the werewolf easily noticed Emma's change in demeanor and quickly directed her gaze to where Emma was looking rather intently.

"Who's that hot chick with Regina?" Ruby asked her quietly as her eyes indulged in the tight blue dress hugging the woman's frame. "Dressed to kill." She mumbled and was tempted to whistle. It was a dress Emma remembered seeing the Mayor wear before; quite the vision in her body. But seeing it in Elsa's made her rather angry. "That's what happened." She mumbled and Ruby lifted an eyebrow trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

"I will see if I can find you a bear claw." Ruby winked at Emma and went to clean a table that had just cleared. "Madam Mayor, I have an open spot here." The werewolf signaled the stunning pair of women and they sauntered her way to take seat.

Emma moved back to her own booth across the diner and took seat next to Hook. She could see Regina and Elsa clearly from her sitting position and continued staring, sipping from time to time from her hot coco while waiting for the bear claw.

"Here. I had to tell her you would pay double, sorry." Ruby gave her the promised treat. "That's fine. Thank you, Ruby." Emma smiled warmly and her eyes returned to where they had been staring.

Regina, in contrast, was trying to keep her gaze from going in Emma's direction. It was already sickening to see her beautiful gold locks everywhere and the sight of Hook with Henry on top of it made it insufferable. She didn't even approach to greet her son because that meant having to cross words with the two people at the top of her list of morons.

"Is she still looking this way?" The brunette asked her companion. "Yes. Does it bother you?" Elsa asked with interest. "Yes… NO." Regina tried to go back on her words because she remembered Elsa's magic was quite unpredictable. A little too late it was, though.

Elsa's index fingertip glowed white and when Emma tried to pull out the piece of bread from her hot coco, she couldn't. "What the hell?" The woman looked again and noticed her beverage had frozen with the bear claw halfway inside. "Really?" Emma grumbled and ripped the top half to bite on and looked at Elsa with anger.

"Ma?" Henry called and then turned around to let his eyes follow to where Emma was glaring with fury. "Mom!" The teenager exclaimed and shot up from his seat to run her way.

"Henry!" Regina exclaimed cheerfully and her expression turned softer. "I've missed you!" She said to him and the young man went for her embrace. "I've missed you two, mom." He said after her. "Where have you been? I hadn't seen you since the announcement of my uncle's name." They boy asked with curiosity, eyes studying the other woman at Regina's table.

"That would be my fault." Elsa said after him. "I'm sorry I kept your mother from you. I just… needed her to help me with… magic." She tried to come up with something else but she didn't know how to lie very well and telling him she came from the past would only make it stranger.

"You're teaching her magic?" Henry turned to look at his mother with bewilderment. "Yes. Light magic, to be clear." Regina pointed out nervously.

"I'm Henry, by the way." The teenager extended a hand to her and smiled warmly but Elsa felt troubled. What if she unwillingly made his hand freeze and Regina hated her for harming her son? She turned to look at Regina for an answer and the brunette nodded her head lightly to assure her it would be okay. Elsa felt secure of herself and took the young man's hand to shake it with grace.

"Aren't you a prince charming!" She exclaimed and Regina twitched her lip at the comment. Bloody blizzard, I messed up! Elsa reprimanded herself mentally. She had forgotten Regina hated that label because it was a direct link to the one family set to destroy her happy endings but Henry chuckled at the innocent comment and felt sorry for the blonde after seeing how worried she became when she noticed Regina's disgusted expression. "Yeah, I got that from gramps." He told her and Regina rolled her eyes inevitably, but they were soft and she chuckled lightly.

"So who are you?" Henry asked her now and took the seat beside her. "I am Elsa, Quee-"… She was saying when Regina completed for her. "An acquaintance from the Enchanted Forest, whom just came to visit me… because she was careful not to get caught in the crossfire of Zelena's vengeance." The brunette quickly formulated. "Oh... It is nice to meet you, Elsa." Henry smiled widely.

All the while, Emma kept a constant stare at the trio. Hook had tried establishing a conversation but Emma just gave him short answers. She was only interested in the peculiar picture the three of them made. They almost looked like a family and Emma saw herself reflected in the platinum blonde sitting next to Henry and smiling warmly with Regina at something her son must have said.

"That should be me." Emma mumbled and Hook narrowed his eyes on her. "What should be, Swan?" The pirate asked confusedly. "Nothing. I was… thinking loudly." Emma had to tear her gaze from the people at the other side of the diner.

"What do you say if we go have a look at your new place." Hook leaned to her side slowly. "There is a bed…room waiting to be explored." He continued and his hand squeezed on Emma's thigh. "You could let the boy stay at Regina's for the night." He suggested and went for a kiss, but Emma evaded him and brought Henry's mug of hot coco to her lips instead.

"Since mine has gone… cold, I will take Henry's." She said and smiled for the pirate nervously. "I get it, swan." He told her a bit annoyed. He turned to look at the people Emma had been studying all that long and wasn't surprised to meet Regina's stern glare. He lift his Hook in salutation and feigned a grin for the Mayor. "Hello, Majesty." He greeted and Regina turned her eyes away feeling really exasperated.

"About time the Queen showed her true interests." He blurted and caught Emma's attention for the first time in their dinner. "What do you mean?" She focused her eyes on him this time. "Well, her pompous gowns may have come off with men… but her fancy pants came off with women twice as often." He told her secretly and paid extra attention to her facial expression; he was the one studying her now. "In the Enchanted Forest, rumor had it she only used men as a façade." He finished.

Emma's mouth went agape and her eyes opened wider, and immediately looked across the diner but the person she sought with her gaze was no longer sitting in her place. The Deputy was puzzled and tried to look around for a certain brunette.

"I need to use the restroom, be right back." The blonde suddenly told him and left.

Emma went into the hallway that lead to the restrooms. She started walking nervously in hesitation of entering and leaned against the wall beside the door to think twice before messing up further, but when she turned around to go back to her booth with Hook, her body bumped into Regina's.

"Watch your step, moron." Regina blurted. "I'm so-" Emma was saying and Regina interrupted her with a tired voice. "Not the S word again." The brunette sighed. "Let me through, Miss Swan." She tried to move past Emma but the hallway was narrow and she couldn't, unless she would brush her body uncomfortably against hers.

"No." Emma answered and grabbed hold of Regina's wrist and dragged her into a private living room they had once been before, when they were trying to decipher whose heart had Zelena used to enact the curse. She closed the door and turned the lock so no one could come in and disturb them. Someone named Elsa, to be precise.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Regina yelled and pulled her hand to free it from Emma's grip. "Arranging a meeting with the Mayor. What else?" The blonde said firmly as she closed the distance between them, invading Regina's space. "Really dear?" Regina twitched her lip. "Ah, ah. I'm talking." Emma interrupted her now and placed her index finger on Regina's lips to stop them from doing that irritating twitching, what made Regina raise an eyebrow at her.

"Sooner or later you'll have to stop evading me, Regina. I am Henry's birthmother and will continue to be in your life, whether you like it or not. So let's both agree that we are stuck with each other and there's nothing either of us can do to change that fate." She told her and silence settled for a moment.

"May I speak now, or will you continue dreading me with your un-touching speech, Miss Swan?" Regina asked mockingly. "Don't_ Miss Swan_ me again, _Majesty_." Emma moved even closer; face just a couple of inches from the other woman's.

"Can't you see I just want to make things right and have a peaceful relationship with you." Her voice was softer this time, just like her eyes were. "I'm afraid that will be impossible, Emma, as you have chosen the worst fatherly figure for our son to look up to." Regina said with discomfort and took a step back. "What?" Emma shook her head. "What does Hook even have to do in this? This is about you and me." Emma was baffled.

"Right. For starters, there is no such thing as a _you and me_, Miss Swan." Regina folded her arms over her chest. "Secondly, that pirate is prone to violence, alcoholism, has no job and only the _dead sea_ knows what else he might be into. I wonder how our thirteen year-old will wind up with that kind of image." She twitched her lip again and Emma was irked.

"Seriously, what is so exciting about the handless wonder?" The brunette added. "Really now? Who said I was going to spend the rest of my days with Hook? No one. He's just… I don't know. What do you care, anyway?" Emma grumbled. "And don't bring Henry as your excuse." She finished.

Regina looked away from Emma's gaze and clenched her teeth. She started traveling the room with her eyes looking for the perfect answer that would make Emma Swan finally shut up and let her go on with her life and allow her to hate on her freely.

"Is this still because of Robin and Marian?" Emma stepped forward to reclaim the distance that Regina had taken away. "Robin who?" Regina tried to recall. "I don't care about the smelly archer any longer. Men are easy to come by and highly disposable." She answered.

"So this is about me?" Emma looked intently into dark eyes, seeking the answer Regina's mouth was denying. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Emma, but the world does not revolve around you." Regina half-heartedly chuckled. "I'm not interested in the whole world, Regina. I'm only interested in yours because it kinda seems so." Emma held her stare and Regina broke eye contact. "You're insane. What on earth gave you the id-" Regina was speaking when rosy lips crashed against hers and a pair of soft warm hands held her face gently in place. Emma had had enough of their old bicker and needed to know if it had been something more all along.

* * *

_*A/N* Another update to make my followers happy, or mad, whatever floats your boat. lol  
__How will Regina react to the kiss? OMG! She is unpredictable when angry._


	4. Chapter 4

_- Looks like Emma needed an opponent in the love field to realize._

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
Chapter 4**

* * *

Hook was growing impatient in his seat because it was taking Emma rather long to come back. He knew women always took a little extra time in the restroom but this was becoming too long of a wait and he started wondering what she could be up to. Emma had been flustered all day and had treated him with almost the same distance as she had been drawing before their bonding trip to the past. "Reverting, Swan, are you?" He mumbled and took the canteen from inside his coat to have a drink.

He wasn't sure if he would be able to continue playing hard-to-get with the savior and his gaze went to look at the table where Henry sat with Elsa. "Where has the Queen gone to?" He wondered and it didn't take too much brain to put one and one together. "I see." He muttered and got up from his seat slowly not to draw attention.

* * *

"You are insane. What on earth gave you the id-" Regina was speaking when Emma's lips crashed against hers and a pair of soft warm hands held her face gently in place. Regina's eyes opened wider and her arms unfolded from her chest to bring her hands slowly to Emma's shoulders. She felt her heart race inside her, but she couldn't decipher if it was in anger or something else. Purple light began swirling in her fingertips and it sent a wave of electricity down Emma's spine.

"Ahhh!" Emma groaned in pain as her body became paralyzed so Regina could break the kiss. Emma tried to move but she couldn't feel her body from below her neck. "Oh my god! You magically tasered me, Regina." Green eyes stared in disbelief.

"What the fuck was that?" Regina cussed for the first time in years. Her fingers went to touch her own lips and her eyes focused in the green gaze watching her with doubt and guilt. "Apparently, not a True Love kiss." Emma answered with disappointment and tried to summon her magic to fight Regina's spell keeping her still.

"You humor me." Regina glared and waved a hand to open the door to get out of the small room. She was walking rapidly down the hallway when Hook almost bumped against her and noticed her fearsome vibe.

"It was worth it!" Emma yelled behind and the pirate heard her. He went into the small living room and peeked his head to look for his twenty-two hours official girlfriend.

"There you are, Swan." He said and made it to her side. "What was worth it?" He asked her and noticed the red lipstick smeared over her lips. _Was she wearing any lipstick at all when they first came?_ Whatever. He didn't usually pay attention to _that_ part of her body.

"Nothing." She answered and finally defeated Regina's spell cast upon her. "I'm tired, let me get Henry and go home." She started moving toward the door.

They went back into the diner and Emma wasn't surprised when she didn't see Regina nor Elsa any longer, but neither was Henry. _Shit. This is going to have repercussions._ She thought and remembered Regina telling her she never thought about the consequences of her actions.

"Looks like she took the boy home." The pirate raised an eyebrow playfully and scratched his chin with his hook. "We have the night for our own." He grinned seductively. "Ugh… I have the worst headache ever." Emma rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I'm heading over to Mary Margaret's, sorry." The woman offered an apologetic smile.

"What? No… Why now?" The pirate complained. "I still have to pack my stuff to move into the new apartment." She made an excuse to avoid his naughty intentions. "What stuff? You didn't even bring that much from New York." He remembered. "I still had my old things there from before Pan's curse." She quickly answered and went to the booth they had occupied earlier, she left some money over the table to pay for their food and exited the diner with Hook behind her.

"Where am I going to stay? I don't have my ship, remember?" He asked her and she turned around slowly. "Yah... I guess in the same place you have been doing up until now?" The blonde answered with confusion. "But it's cramped in Smee's boat and smells of rotten fish." The pirate whined.

"Sorry, I guess." Emma answered. She knew he had traded his ship for the magic bean that brought him back to Storybrooke but, really, it wasn't her fault he couldn't find another place. Say; Granny's rentals? "Goodnight, Hook." The blonde waved a hand and got inside her bug.

Regina was still upset about the unexpected kiss Emma had stolen. She kept thinking about it and how it made her feel… _confused?_ She had been flustered during the first minutes of the ride home but seeing Henry in the back through her mirror made her relax and happy to have him in the house for the night, perhaps even the week… _or permanently_. Yes, that was a good idea and it made her smile again.

"It's good to be back, mom!" Henry exclaimed and hugged her. He then ran upstairs to jump in his old bed and kicked off his shoes. He looked outside the window and remembered the day he had tried to escape from the mansion, after Emma had fallen through the portal with Mary Margaret. "What I wouldn't give to stop myself in the past and avoid all the mess I brought along with ma." He mumbled. He remembered how much he regretted it the day Regina had to say good-bye to him and he felt guilty of pursuing the woman who had given him up.

He became conflicted, because Emma truly loved him now and living for a full year with her had bonded them like he had always wanted it to be, but ever since Hook had appeared in New York, he had felt like he was being put in second place. He did like Hook as a buddy to hang out but seeing him as his birthmother's new choice of partner was kind of upsetting and he wasn't used to the idea yet. And what made it worse had been learning about Emma ruining Regina's chance with Robin Hood. He had always loved the stories of the outlaw archer who stole from the rich to help the poor and he had the heroic idea etched in his head that Robin was that cool man from his books.

He even considered the idea of setting his mom and Robin up for an unexpected meeting, but decided not to meddle in their business because there was a small child caught in between the mess. Certainly he needn't an extra father, as he already had twice as many parents, but Roland only had one father and one mother he recognized and needed. "I guess everything happens for a reason." He mumbled and went to grab one of his old comics from his desk.

"Honey, would you like anything before you go to sleep?" Regina peeked from his door to ask. "No, thanks mom. I'm good." He answered and continued reading the comic. "Not even a kiss?" Regina asked with a little sadness in her voice. Her boy had grown so much and so quickly and she missed his innocent cuddling from when he was much smaller.

"Now that you mention it, I would take two." He got up from his seat and went to embrace and kiss her. "My little prince." His mother said with eyes clouding. Henry smiled and hugged her tightly and then she parted from his embrace before her tears would start pouring. She closed the door gently behind her and Henry went back to reading.

Elsa had been waiting for Regina in the studio, looking at a picture of Henry when he was a toddler and didn't notice the moment Regina entered the room and saw her smiling at the image. Regina came slowly behind her and said almost in her ear: "He was four in that picture." and Elsa jumped from the impression. She didn't hear her come in and was taken by surprise.

"Regina! You scared me." The blonde gasped. "I'm sorry." Regina apologized.

Regina inhaled deeply and then looked into the blue gaze staring with curiosity. "How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?" The brunette offered. "Hmm… That is quite a proposition, considering I've had only the best." Elsa winked. "Which is why I'm offering you mine." Regina looked intensely into her eyes and Elsa had to swallow her own saliva. "Very well, I'll be the judge." The blonde grinned and watched Regina move with grace toward the wet bar to pour their drinks.

Regina offered the glass and Elsa received it with a smile, she looked into the amber liquid and then inhaled the bold scent of apples. "It is promising thus far." The woman commented and looked into confident brown eyes. "Wait until you try it." The brunette assured her and took a sip from her own glass.

Elsa brought the glass to her lips slowly and then took a sip from her drink. She let the flavor sit in her tongue before she swallowed and closed her eyes at the same time as a pleasant moan resounded in her throat. "Mmm…" She uttered and her eyes slowly opened at the same time her tongue licked around her lips savoring. "Marvelous."

"Told you it would be best you ever had." Regina took another sip and smirked with pride. "I could think of something just as sweet that would easily make it to the top of my list." Elsa moved closer and her eyes went to inspect Regina's lips still moistened with cider. She gently rolled her thumb on a corner of Regina's lip to pick up a small drop of amber liquid and brought it to her own mouth to lightly lick her fingertip.

"You were right. Your apple cider is in the best I could ever have." The regal lady told her and Regina was baffled for a moment. She was the mistress of seduction when it came to using her lady charms with men to have her way without magic, but she had never been in the receiving end of another Queen's teasing and there was no doubt now that Elsa had yet another thing in common with her.

Regina cleared her throat and moved her eyes apart from Elsa's. She focused in the hearth and went to sit down in her sofa. "How was it like to be Queen of Arendelle? Did you rule for long or did they banish you too early? The brunette decided to pick up on the story to deviate her attention from the tingling sensation she was feeling in her body. Elsa somehow managed to make her nervous; her innocent behavior seemed melting away with their interaction.

"I became Queen after my parents had a fatal accident in one of their trips." Elsa started telling her. She went to sit next to Regina in the same couch and then her gaze got lost in the fire on the hearth. "I was younger when that happened. I was left with the responsibility of my younger sister, a whole realm insecure about my ability to rule and a burden I could never get rid of; my magic.

"It wasn't easy to prevent my powers from manifesting but I managed to conceal them for a couple of years. That was until…" Elsa's eyes flickered silver momentarily as her memories brought an unpleasant image. "Until what?" Regina asked feeling really drawn into her narration.

"Until we had ball in honor of my sister's birthday. That was when my world fell apart. In her first dance, she met a prince named Hans that promised her the world and more. She let herself be blinded by his words and the next day, she was telling me they were engaged." Elsa's hand started glowing and her glass of cider froze and shattered in her grasp.

"Elsa, you're bleeding!" Regina looked at her hand and took it in hers gently. She carefully pulled out a crystal shard from her palm and touched it lightly with her fingertips, making the wound disappear with magic. "Thank you." Elsa blushed lightly. "I wish my magic could do what yours does." The blonde told her and Regina smiled warmly.

"I could teach you." Regina offered. "Would you do that for me?" Elsa asked with surprise, eyes open wide in joy. "Of course, dear. Besides, you already told Henry I was doing so but that will have to wait until tomorrow because it is very late now." Regina got up and offered the blonde her hand to stand. Elsa took her hand smiling and followed after Regina. "Yes. And I will continue telling you my story then."

* * *

It was a weekday and that could only mean one thing for Henry. His mother knocked on his door to awake him and the young man had to battle his own eyelids to open. "Honey, you'll be late for school." Regina said behind his door. "I'm… almost… awake. I'll be quick in the shower, mom." He rubbed his eyes and kicked off the bed covers. He went into his bathroom and started getting ready for a day, like he had done over a year ago in that same place.

Regina dropped him off in school and went back home to check upon Elsa, whom she didn't want to disturb after the late hour she had kept her up talking about her life in Arendelle. But when the brunette entered her own home, the scent of chocolate invaded her nostrils and brought her to the kitchen.

"What are you preparing?" Regina asked with curiosity and went to peek at the little pot warming some milk. "Hot coco." Elsa answered normally but then realized she had never asked permission to make use of the kitchen and she had made a little bit of a mess in the pantry while she looked for anything that might result familiar to her. "Regina! I apologize for taking the liberty of making use of your kitchen." The woman apologized and Regina chuckled.

"That's quite alright, dear, feel free to use it." Regina smiled. "But, hot coco for breakfast?" Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well… yes… I found that little container of dark chocolate and I'm embarrassed to admit I couldn't resist it." Elsa flashed an apologetic smile and her face flushed in embarrassment.

"I would normally have milk alone and fruit with honey but I haven't had chocolate in the longest time and I just..." Elsa looked down to avoid meeting brown eyes. "Love it." Regina completed for her. "Yes." Elsa's brow furrowed in guilt.

"As long as you don't sprinkle cinnamon on top, I have no problem with your choice." Regina mumbled. "Cinnamon? No, I would rather infuse it with peppermint." Elsa smiled. "You are into bold flavors, I like that." Regina grinned and looked for something in her cabinets. "Which I happen to have." The brunette gave her a tiny bottle with peppermint essence. "Just a couple of drops and it'll give it some kick." She winked and Elsa smirked.

"Coco for the Mayor?" Elsa pushed one mug across the kitchen island. "Thank you." Regina took it and gave it a try. "Not bad for a Queen." Regina chuckled and Elsa glared. "I'm not completely useless, you know?" The blonde complained and then served her own mug to enjoy. "Of that I'm sure, but please let me take from here." Regina replied.

They had breakfast after Regina took over the kitchen to prep something healthy to combat the unnecessary amount of sugar and then got ready to head out.

"I'd prefer to walk." Elsa commented and Regina nodded. "Then let's do that."

The streets of Storybrooke were usually barren and Regina had always enjoyed walking around town to admire her creation, but walking with someone beside her felt completely different. She liked being able to chat while you were headed to your destination and she remembered her walk with Robin and Roland. It had felt close to her _ideal _of a family, but not completely real. She loved the little kid but was a little confused about the archer and why she had gone after him in the first place. _Pixie-dust and lack of options. S_he mumbled but Elsa didn't hear.

They came to face the same park where they had met and Elsa went to stand by the lake. "It still is frozen." She said with a saddened tone and Regina looked at her with curiosity. "Why does that bother you? I thought you liked the cold." The brunette asked. "Because my presence is doing it and it won't be long before your lovely town is buried under snow." Elsa sighed deeply and went to sit in the bench facing the lake.

"I don't see any snow yet, Elsa, and I doubt that will be the case. The weather is just very cold in this area, don't blame yourself." Regina smiled warmly and took seat next to her.

Emma had been patrolling the streets, as the temperature continued dropping and there had been reports of water leaks outside some businesses and she had to keep en eye out in case someone was in need for help. She was doing her round down the main street when her eyes distinguished the peculiar pair of heads behind a bench. "Why isn't Regina in the office?" Emma asked herself and parked her unit to spy on the Mayor.

"I just can't control it, Regina. Everywhere I go, I bring an endless winter with me." Elsa told her. "I don't want this power, I always hurt the ones I love most." The blonde said with sadness and tears gathered in her eyes. "Magic is emotion, Elsa. You first need to know your heart in order to control your power." Regina said gently.

"I know my heart. It is cold as ice and anyone I care about will eventually turn cold." Elsa cried remembering someone she loved but lost. "It isn't. I can prove it." Regina put her hand on her chest gently. "Your heart is just as warm as I see you are too." She told her and smiled gently.

Elsa felt her heart race inside her and started feeling worried her magic could betray her and harm the other woman. She pushed Regina's hand away and tried to stand up, but Regina gripped on it and pulled her to her side again. She felt connected with her story and, undeniably, somewhat attracted the beautiful Queen of Arendelle.

Regina had endured too much pain in the last year, and last days had made her realize how much she'd been denying herself the opportunity to feel again. She tried with Robin but that didn't turn out the way expected, thanks to Emma. Miss Swan was still in her black list after bringing back the deceased wife, but resentment wasn't the only thing Emma Swan evoked in Regina. With that stolen kiss, she brought confusion that awakened an old time craving in Regina; her likes for women. She had been feeling unexplainable things toward the Sheriff but she didn't want to accept it in the beginning, given their rivalry in motherhood. And later, because Emma started frequenting the obnoxious pirate and now they were an item._ -I hate them both- s_aid Regina in her inside.

"I know you care about me and I will prove to you that you won't hurt me." The brunette told her and leaned forward slowly. She moved some hair from Elsa's face and looked into blue eyes with softness. Elsa was confused at what could be going on inside the brunette's head and became nervous when Regina took the last step forward and gently pressed her lips on hers, kissing her very slowly while letting go of her hand.

Elsa felt Regina's warm invade her and gave into a kiss that felt like summer melting in her mouth. Her hands went to cup Regina's face shyly and the brunette placed her own on Elsa's arms gently. Small sparkling snowflakes started coming from the sky and slowly landed over the couple kissing, but they didn't notice until they heard the excited voice of a child telling his parents it was snowing, and Elsa's fears made themselves present that moment.

"Regina!" Elsa exclaimed as she broke the kiss and inspected the other woman for any signs of freezing. "What's wrong, Elsa?" The brunette asked with worry and then felt something strange inside her chest. A strand of hair from her head began changing color and Elsa started weeping. "I told you!" She cried out and started running in direction of the lake.

"Elsa, wait!" Regina tried to follow but she had to stop before going into the frozen surface. "No! I can't. You have to be safe!" The other woman yelled as she disappeared inside a cloud of snow.

Regina stepped over the ice and ignored the crackling sound it emitted. "Come back here!" She carefully started walking but her heels were breaking the surface. "Or I will find you." She raised her voice again and was suddenly swallowed by the lake.

"Regina!" Emma shouted behind her and ran to her side. _What do I do… what do I do… Ah!_ Emma focused her magic to break the ice that had already formed where Regina had fallen. She caught Regina's hand and quickly pulled her from cold water and brought her to the grass. "Regina, Regina." The woman called her with despair. "Emma." Regina opened her eyes and started coughing some water.

"What were you thinking?" Emma scolded. "I just wanted to stop her…" Regina answered. "Stop her from what? From sparing your life?" The blonde scowled. "From leaving me alone again." Regina muttered and let Emma help her stand up.

The once again Savior noticed red lips had turned purple and Regina's body started shivering aggressively. "You're freezing, we need to get you to the hospital." Emma told her. "No. Just… Take me home." Regina told her and let Emma carry half of her weight as she limped her way to the police unit.

They arrived in the mansion and Regina tried to shoo Emma away, but the blonde wouldn't let her out of sight after what had just happened. She was worried Regina could get hypothermia or worse. What if she escaped into the woods to find Elsa and kissed her life away?_ No, no, no._ Emma didn't want that image in her head again.

"I'm not a delinquent under your custody, Deputy. Please leave my home." Regina ordered. "No. I need to make sure you are safe and well. Your lips are still purple and you have a weird white strand of hair in your head." Emma pointed with a finger. "What?" Regina went to have a look in the mirror. "But… How did I get this?" She mumbled. "That happened when you kissed her." Emma looked to the floor and bit her lip angrily.

"Were you… spying on us?" Regina asked in disbelief. "Are you stalking me, Ms. Swan?" She asked with suspicion. "What? NO. I was in patrol and I happened to casually see you…" Emma avoided brown gaze.

"Thank you. For helping me." Regina said with difficulty. "But now I need to take a shower." She pointed to the door. "Okay." Emma went to sit in a corner of Regina's bed. "Really, dear? Can't you at least wait outside?" Regina muttered. "You might try to sneak out." Emma grinned. "And what makes you think you could stop me? Regina asked with challenge. "Good point." Emma muttered and left her bedroom feeling totally defeated and embarrassed. _What was I even thinking?_ She scratched her head.

Regina took her time in a warm bath and felt her body recover most of the lost heat. She wrapped herself in a towel and went into her bedroom to look for a change of clothing to wear. She was looking in her closet for the right ensemble when Emma knocked on her door. "Everything okay there?" She asked after having waited an hour and growing impatient, but Regina rolled her eyes and didn't return an answer in hope Emma would get the message and go away.

She clearly didn't know the way Emma Swan rolled, as the lack of an answer made the blonde burst inside her room and find the Mayor in just a towel. "Damn." It escaped her lips and her eyes indulged in the vision without meaning to stare. "Damn to you too. Who told you you could come in?" Regina questioned and walked closer intimidatingly.

"Ugh, I was just worried because you didn't answer." Emma replied and tried to look away. "Since when do you even care about my wellbeing, Ms. Swan? Because I recall that not longer than two days ago were you set to destroy my happy ending." The brunette confronted her.

"Regina, I-" Emma tried to defend but she was immediately cut. "Ah, ah. I'm talking. Just, who do you think you are? What makes you think you can decide for me? Why do you come and confuse me and then change me for a homeless alcoholic, and just when I see light in the end of the tunnel, you come and stop me from following after her. What do you want from me?" Regina had to stop to catch her breath.

"I… What? _Confused you_? It's you who kept on pushing me away and how was I supposed to know you played in the other team as well? You are so _perfect_ and beautiful and I just... I never thought I would have a chance. And Hook, well, he is so adamant and Neal is gone and I thought... maybe a pirate is better than nothing. I just don't do well alone and that's a horrible defect, I know." Emma felt embarrassed and continued evading Regina's piercing stare.

"Not having someone is the worst curse imaginable." Regina mumbled remembering words she had once shared with Emma. It had been under different circumstances but it still echoed in her head. She had been lonely for the longest and had jumped into a relationship without really asking herself if she felt something for Robin. _Why had she been so upset about Emma bringing back Marian, anyway? _She really didn't miss Robin and realized the real reason behind her anger. _Loneliness._

"Emma, this is just too much for me to handle at the moment." Regina sighed deeply and went to sit on her bed. "Please leave me alone." She sighed deeply. "No. I'm not doing the same mistake again, Regina. Please give me a chance to make it right. I want to be worthy of you. I want to give you a reason to smile every morning and I wish to have a home in you and Henry." Emma knelt before her and picked her hands in hers. "Would you let me?"

"Emma… I don't think that's the best idea." Regina answered thinking about how would the Charmings react to that and, more importantly, Henry. Would he still accept her if she was into women? It was much easier to use men as a distraction and façade than facing her true feelings. And what about Elsa? They might have just met but there was something about her that made her want to have her in her life as well.

"What if Henry disapproves? Imagine if he learns both of his mothers are queer." She asked her. "I doubt that will be the case. We would be together for him and it would actually make things easier." Emma felt positive. "Would you at least give me a chance to make it up to you? You don't have to take me in yet, just consider the possibility of you and me." She pleaded.

"I… Emma. I'm very confused. I need time to think. I hope you can understand." Regina looked into green eyes with sadness. "Of course. Look, if it is Elsa whom your heart desires now, I will respect that and stop coming after you. But if there is still the smallest spark of hope, I will fight for you." Emma smiled warmly and rose from her position.

"Emma." Regina called her softly before she reached to the door. "That kiss. Did you mean it?" Regina asked with hope. "Yes. It was worth it. You are worth it and I would endure more if needed be, but I would appreciate next time if you don't taser me with your magic." The blonde chuckled. "I won't." Regina told her.

* * *

Addressing some comments:

1) About writing Emma as deputy. We saw David take the Sheriff position in Storybrooke. Emma wasn't planning to stay, so she actually isn't _even_ deputy (as of 3x22). Remember she had said she would only be _working on the case and leave_. Maybe in season 4 she goes back to being deputy or sheriff. I chose deputy because Regina is still Mayor and I doubt David and Snow would run for election, or see David go back to the pet shelter.

2) Elsa seeing Emma as a commoner. That's because of her lack of touch/etiquette. Emma may be a princess but she's still a diamond in the rough and Elsa is pure royalty. But don't think I will make her a bitchy one; she's just _protective _of her new_ friend, _with good reasons.

3) I'm also going round and round about what is between Rumple and Elsa. I don't want to make a crappy background story because I love Elsa and I wish to honor her character. I'm even fearful of OUAT writers screwing her story in their own twist. I hope they don't make her fall for Hook! Since the show is: "Once Upon in my Hook" - apparently.


	5. Chapter 5

_- Sorry I took time to update. I was finishing "It's a Death Trap" and I'm quite pleased. :p_

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS**  
**Chapter 5**

* * *

Elsa found a quiet place deep inside the forest. She was feeling upset with herself after her magic absorbed part of Regina's life source and she didn't want to put her in danger again. She hated she was unable to control her outbursts and how it always affected the people she loved most. Her powers, more than inherited magic, felt like an unbreakable curse cast upon her. "How can I control my emotions if I can't even allow myself to feel them?" She asked herself as she sat on a rock to think.

She was feeling desperate and with her turmoil of feelings, snow fell with more intensity from the sky. It started covering the landscape and the Queen decided to build herself a fortress. She needed her own space to safely practice magic and for that she needed to keep people away, so she made ice rise from the ground and bring her up to the very peak of the mountain and built her citadel.

From an explosion of snow and sparkle, a beautiful castle emerged; made of translucent blue ice that reflected the afternoon sunlight like a faceted diamond. She smiled proudly at her creation and then closed the gate behind her. "I can do good things when I feel free." She smiled. Elsa went to her new bedchambers and opened the doors to the balcony facing the sun.

"The view is beautiful and it is so quiet in here." She took a deep breath to inhale the scent of fresh snow in the forest.

"I will let go of my fears and be in control. I can't let the past continue to haunt me."

* * *

In School

"What is that?" Henry looked at the strange thing reflecting bright sunlight like a mirror in the distance. "I've no idea." Mary Margaret told him as she and the rest of the students enjoyed their lunch break. "Okay, kids. Lunchtime is over. Everyone, back in your classrooms." Another of the teachers ordered.

* * *

In the Ice Palace

Elsa was using the full potential of her magic freely for the second time in her life and it felt -"Amazing!"- she exclaimed as she made a snowman come to life. "Olaf!" She greeted the little figure. "Mother! Highness!" The snowman started running around nervously and then froze on his spot. "Olaf, you don't need to pretend to be lifeless. It's me, Elsa." The woman told him and hugged him tightly, what made his head come off his body and roll over the floor. "Oh, my apologies!" Elsa quickly picked it up and put it back.

"Elsa? You... you... look like Queen Idun. Did Olaf get shorter?" The snowman asked as he noticed Elsa was no longer the little girl he remembered playing with in the castle. "No, I just grew bigger." Elsa chuckled and took his wooden hand to shake it. "Ah!" The snowman exclaimed. "And Anna?" He asked innocently but Elsa quickly became gloomy. "She's not here." The blonde went to sit on her throne and the little man came to her side. "Olaf will help you find her! Olaf likes hide and seek." He said cheerfully but Elsa looked downcast. "No... She's in a world faraway from this, Olaf. We are on our own."

* * *

(Flashback)

They had been discussing about their trades and the young Queen had opposed to granting more money for their transactions with the realm of Weselton. The Duke was a greedy man who continued rising his prices under different excuses and Hans was always insisting on the importance of supporting him in particular. Elsa had had enough of his meddling and got up from her seat with anger; but when her palms hit the table, a ray of white-blue light shot all through the surface making it freeze and shatter.

"Sorcery! I knew there was something dubious going on here." The Duke of Weselton exclaimed.

"I told you she was using dark magic to gain power. We can't trust her, gentlemen!" Hans said to the councilmen after Elsa's magic manifested and she ran to hide in her bedchambers. "She might have even killed her own parents." He planted the seed of doubt in all of the royals in the assembly. Noblemen looked in fear at each other and decided to believe Hans' words, instead of giving a chance to their Queen to come clean. They had always wondered about the mystery they had kept hidden behind closed doors for years and now they knew it was because of Elsa's dark sorcery.

"We have laws and the use of magic is considered a crime in our kingdom." One of the men said loudly. Murmurs started echoing in the entire palace and Hans summoned royal knights to bring the Queen to judge her for her crimes.

After marrying Anna, he had been made head of the army against Elsa's true wish. _"If you don't support my choice of partner, you might as well say good-bye to me."_ Anna's words echoed in her head and Elsa felt obliged to bestow him with the rank he demanded, as she didn't want to loose her only family left. Hans gained full control over their forces and now it was finally his opportunity to claim the throne for himself, after having endured a false marriage.

It had served him taking Anna's heart with an enchanted dagger he got from the dark wizard, though his aim had been going after Elsa's to control her, wed her and become King. But his surprise had been finding out she wasn't into him, or any other man for that matter. She avoided dancing with anyone in the ball and he couldn't get a chance to be alone with her to rip out her heart and force her into crowning him.

"The Queen has escaped!" One of the soldiers informed Hans as he got into the bedchambers. Her window was broken and there was a slide of ice that went into the forest. "Not the Queen, the WITCH. We are hunting tonight, soldiers!" Hans ordered and they went to prepare their steeds to pursue her.

Elsa kept running but she had to stop by the edge of a cliff, for the fall was steep and no amount of snow underneath would be enough to cushion such a terrible slip. But when Hans and his soldiers faced her, she had to let go of her enchanted gloves and have faith in the full potential of her magic.

She focused her energy in her hands to build a bridge out of ice and Elsa managed to escape her own knights through the icy passage connecting two mountains. But soldiers didn't run with the same luck, as their heavy armor and weapons made the frozen bridge collapse and a dozen men fell and met their final end. "You better hope I never find you, witch!" Hans yelled behind as she continued running through the forest. "For next time, you won't be able to escape fate!"

After hours of aimlessly walking, the dethroned Queen of Arendelle found shelter in a small cottage by the mountain. It was a humble business with hot springs for traveling tourists and their hot waters were claimed to have healing powers, but Elsa wasn't interested in them and instead asked for a place to sleep.

The gentleman tending the business showed her the way and brought her to the hostal where she could have some rest. "Excuse me, kind Sir. Would you happen to have something slightly more... private?" Elsa asked him but the tall redhead shook his head in negative. The Queen had never shared her bedchambers and now she would be forced to sleep in a room with strangers.

Elsa went to the bed in the farthest and removed her cloak to place it on a chair nearby. She noticed she still was wearing her crown and quickly hid it inside a drawer from the nightstand beside her little bed.

"What would a lady like yourself be doing in a place like this?" A young man or girl's voice asked her but Elsa wasn't sure, as her eyes couldn't find the person. "Who asks? Show yourself." The platinum blonde ordered defensively. "Up here." The low voice answered and tapped over the Queen's head lightly.

Elsa hadn't noticed there was a person occupying the bunk bed above hers and nearly fainted with the surprise. "I'm Krystal, by the way." The young lady told her after jumping down from her bed and offering her hand in salutation. Elsa looked warily at it and decided not to tempt her powers from manifesting and took a step back. "I'm El... Eleanor." The Queen answered and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mhmn..." The other girl uttered as her brown eyes looked at Elsa from top to bottom with suspicion. "Nice to meet you El... eanor." Krystal raised an eyebrow playfully. "So what brings you here?" The woman leaned against the bunk bed's post and pulled out a carrot from inside one of her bags to munch on it.

Elsa raised an eyebrow at the carefree behavior of the other woman and she was still having difficulty with believing that was a lady at all. Her name might be Krystal, but she was unusually tall for a woman and wore male clothing of doubtful quality. Her golden hair was cut too short and there was no blush or stain over her lips; she just didn't seem feminine at all, unless you looked closer to her facial features, which were unexpectedly beautiful for someone who carried herself so carelessly.

"I... I was traveling with my steed but he got injured on the road and couldn't make it. I was fortunate enough to find this place to take shelter and hope I can find someone to help me get to my destination tomorrow." Elsa made up. "Hmn... Good luck with that. This isn't really a popular landmark and people are wary of fishy strangers." Krystal told her and started walking toward the door. "How dare you! I am no fishy stranger! I'm Elsa, Quee-" The regal lady had to bite her tongue to stop talking.

"What was that?" Krystal turned around and looked at Elsa with a cheeky grin and put a hand behind her ear as if trying to hear better. "Nothing." The royal lady turned her back and went to sit on her bed. "Okay." Krystal replied and opened the door to go outside. Elsa turned her head again and got curious about where could that annoying girl be going in the middle of the storm and decided to sneak behind her. _What if she knew her true identity and went to tell someone so they could claim a bounty on her head that Hans would most likely be glad to pay?_ "I need to make sure." Elsa mumbled and put back her cloak to go outside.

She followed the steps in snow and then heard voices coming from a stable nearby. She went to look through a hole in the wall and watched as Krystal shared her carrots with a reindeer and petted it. She saw the girl speak with the animal and it seemed like they were actually communicating with each other. "Could she have magic, too?" Elsa wondered and tried to look closer, but when she pressed harder against the old plank of wood, the crackling sound alerted the animal and Krystal went to look for the source of noise.

"I know you're there. Come in, Elsa." Krystal told her and the Queen finally stepped inside the stable. "You heard me." Elsa looked to the floor in guilt and then at the reindeer curiously. "This is Sven." The other girl told her and beckoned to get closer. "He doesn't bite." But when Elsa tried to pet the animal, a big purple tongue gave her face a long wet swipe. "AAAHHHH!" Elsa screamed and jumped to Krystal's side and hugged her in fear. "Oh, yah. He is more of a licker." The woman offered an apologetic smile and looked into blue eyes with softness that quickly turned into embarrassment, as they were still embracing each other. Their cheeks turned bright red and they pushed each other away.

"I... ah... Sorry. I didn't mean to..." Elsa looked at her surroundings nervously to evade caramel eyes. "It's okay. I would've been scared too." Krystal finished for her and went to sit beside her pet. "I will be sleeping here so you can feel more comfortable in the cabin. I was the only guest there, so now you have the room for yourself." The brown-eyed said to her and leaned onto Sven's belly. "Better than those stiff beds and much warmer." She rubbed his belly and Sven flashed his teeth in agreement.

"Here?" Elsa looked at the piles of straw around them. "Yep. Here. Enjoy your bed, Majesty." Krystal answered and closed her eyes. "Uh... Thank you." Elsa mumbled and went outside to make it back to the cabin but she couldn't bring herself to sleep, as she was replaying the image of disaster that had happened in her palace.

She was banned from her own land but didn't want to leave Anna by the mercy of that treacherous man. "He must have done something to change her." Elsa kept thinking and her mind was set on finding a way back into her castle without getting noticed, so she could take her sister with her and leave everything behind them to start over.

"The dark wizard!" Elsa exclaimed after touching her glove-less hands. "He will help me."

The next morning, Elsa went to look for Krystal in the stable but she couldn't find her or Sven either. She went to ask the business tender about the other girl and her reindeer and he told her Krystal had checked out earlier as she was in a hurry. "Did you see in which direction they took path?" Elsa asked him and he pointed to the road ahead. "Thank you!" She left some gold coins on his table and the man almost had a heart stroke, as that was much more money then the one he could make in months.

Elsa used the impulse of her magic to move through the forest faster, but it began wearing off as she wasn't used to making use of it so frequently. The path of ice she had been gliding on started melting and she finally tripped after her hands stopped emitting light and summoning ice under her feet. She rolled over snow and her body crashed against someone else's.

"Elsa?" The brown-eyed girl asked as she rubbed her head in pain. She had been standing by the road deciding which path to take that could save her some time, as the snowstorm didn't seem to want to cease, when the royal lady rolled and hit her from behind, causing both to fall to the ground.

"Krystal! I'm so glad I caught you." The Queen sighed in relief and then looked down and blushed lightly. "Oh, sorry!" She apologized and hopped off the other woman's body. "I would say it was _me_ who caught _you_." Krystal's brow furrowed and she slowly got up after Elsa.

"I need your help. I will reward your efforts beyond imagination if you agree to bring me to the Enchanted Forest." Elsa asked her and Krystal raised an eyebrow. "No way." The other woman answered as she brushed snow off her male attire. "Please! I could give you anything you wished for." Elsa took her hands and looked deeply into caramel eyes, but Krystal glared and retrieved her hands. "I said no. That land is wretched and there is no fortune big enough that will convince me to go back there." The woman grumbled and hopped on her sled. "So you know the way…" Elsa mumbled.

"Krystal, please. Would you really leave a lady like myself to perish in a storm like this?" Elsa used a higher and more innocent voice to appeal to her soft spot, if she had one. Krystal rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. She knew Elsa was being manipulative and damn did she hit the right target. "Get on." The woman grumbled and Elsa grinned widely. She got into the sled and sat beside her. "To the Enchanted Forest then." Elsa said and Krystal ordered Sven to take off.

"Did she really get engaged a day after meeting him?" Krystal's brow furrowed. "Yes. That's why I think he must have done something to her. She became so distant and cold toward me after that ball." Elsa sighed deeply and brought her hands to her chest. "Hans sounds like a piece of... work." Krystal mumbled and passed her an apple. "Thank you." Elsa took it and looked at the red apple for a moment.

"Why didn't you want to help me reach to the Enchanted Forest before? Did the Evil Queen do something to you?" Elsa asked her. "No. But it wasn't because she didn't want to, but because I managed to escape her dark knights." Krystal answered.

She started telling her she had helped Snow White hide in her tree house once, days after the princess escaped a huntsman sent to kill her. And that man was the same guard that recognized her as she was being dragged with others into the dungeons and helped her escape.

"We had crossed paths years before in the woods, before the Evil Queen turned him into one of her puppets. Several wolves had surrounded my dear Sven and were going to attack him when he appeared and talked to them. The wolves actually listened to him and allowed us to leave, and he then apologized because his family was just hungry, as it had taken him days to find a proper deer to sacrifice so they could eat." The woman shared her story. "Sven was just a foal back then but my only companion and it was the huntsman who taught me how to communicate with my dear friend."

"We're getting closer." Krystal commented and Elsa looked around them. It had been hours since they last saw snow in the landscape and had to leave the sled behind to continue their journey over Sven's back. The sky was dark and as they deepened in the forest, Elsa started feeling something strange, something darker that pressed around her. "Do you feel that?" Elsa asked. "What?" Krystal asked with curiosity. "This… darkness surrounding us. Like a thick fog squeezing around you."

"Um… no." The other woman shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "Elsa, do you… have magic?" Krystal asked her as she looked intently. "NO. Why would you ask such a question?" The Queen answered nervously. "Because only those who wield magic can perceive it." Krystal responded. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." She smiled warmly and both women got lost in each other's gaze for a moment.

"This is as far as I will get, Elsa. If you follow the wanted signs, you will soon be in the realm." Krystal told her as she helped her down of the reindeer. "Thank you." Elsa said to her as her feet touched dry ground and then she remembered she had to pay for the trip. "You may have this as a promise of a better payment when I go back to Arendelle." The Queen pulled out something from the bag she kept under her cloak and then placed it in her hands.

"Your crown? I can't accept it." Krystal tried to return it. "And I don't need you to pay me anything. It has been nice spending some time with another person for a change. No offense, Sven." The woman smiled apologetically to her pet and the reindeer turned his head away in self-pity. "But I insist. I forced myself on you and you came against your own wish… and I know how it feels like to do something you don't really want to." Elsa mumbled the last part as her eyes looked downcast.

"Elsa." Krystal called softly. "Yes?" An azure gaze met with caramel again. "Promise me you will be safe. That is the only payment I am willing to accept." The tall woman pleaded as her hands gently placed the crown back in the Queen's hands. "Please stay safe and come back for Arendelle."

* * *

(Present time)

"Another world?" Olaf said softly and his eyes gained a different glint than Elsa's did, as that could only mean in his snowy brain that the game had become all the more thrilling. He started walking to the balcony and then jumped off to start his quest for finding Anna's hiding spot. "Where are you going?" Elsa yelled at him from her balcony but the little snowman didn't hear her and continued rolling down hill with excitement.

"Damn it! I can't leave him on the loose here." Elsa scuffed and went running downstairs. She had to stop to catch her breath and then tried to use her magic to create a slide of ice, but after building her palace and bringing Olaf to life, her power was weakened and she couldn't use it to create the shortcut. "Great. And I had to choose the peak of the mountain to build my home." She huffed and began hiking down the mountain.

* * *

_**Author's note:** Someone asked if I would bring Kristoff, Anna and Sven. Well, my dears, here they are! Except, Kristoff is Krystal and Elsa's special someone. And I brought them to the story, but not Storybrooke. Instead, I chose Olaf to come to our world as it was more likely, since bringing the others would require another portal to the past. _

_I was thinking about the timing in Elsa's imprisonment and realized she could've been captured by Rumple way before he even started training Regina, or maybe during the time he was. Elsa was already trapped in the vase when Snow and David were just meeting, which means Anna and the others could already be dead or be old. Now I'm having a difficult time to solve a problem of "age" differences in this fanfic, as Elsa could actually be older than Regina and not have known about the Evil Queen at all. Damn! Why didn't I realize this before I started my ficlet? lol_


	6. Chapter 6

_- Expect OOC behaviour. __If you can't deal with it, piss off my fanfic and write your own. lol_

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS**  
**Chapter 6**

* * *

After finishing his classes, Henry asked Regina to take him to the park under false pretense. He said he wanted to spend the afternoon with her to make up for the lost time; instead of Emma, which was partially true but he was more interested in having a slightly closer look at the thing that appeared at the peak of the mountain. And Regina gladly agreed after Emma brought him from school to the station, as she was also interested in going back to that same park because it had been the last place where she saw Elsa.

Henry was tempted to go mountain hiking, but Regina was keeping a close look at him and had already forbidden him from skating on the frozen lake. In fact, she decided to call Emma and ask her to secure the area so no one would enter after her accident earlier in the morning. "On my way." Emma replied and the Mayor hang up her cellphone. "Henry, don't go too far." His mother yelled behind him and he went back to join her.

Regina got lost in thought gazing in direction of the lake, remembering her kiss with Elsa and how she reacted to it, when Henry finally decided to ask about her strange white hair. "Mom… What's up with your new look? Going Cruella de Vil?" He chuckled and his mother pinched him in the arm. "You're rude, young man." She glared but wasn't really mad, as she knew her boy didn't see her as a villain anymore and it was a little funny the way her hair looked with that strand of colorless hair.

"So?" He asked again and Regina didn't really know what to answer. She wasn't yet ready to tell him she had by now kissed two women, his other mother included, and actually it was a mystery why this had happened after kissing the Queen of Arendelle. "It just turned white. I guess I'm getting older." The Mayor shrugged and Henry twitched his lip unconvinced.

"Did you get to teach Elsa any cool tricks today?" The boy decided to change topic. "No. She had to leave early because her family called her and she had to go back home." Regina made up for him. "Oh, pity. She was pretty nice." Henry shrugged but then turned to look at his mother with interest. "Would you teach me instead?" He asked suddenly. "Why would you want to learn magic, Henry? I thought you were against it." His mother asked with surprise. "That was ages ago, mom. I believe I'm ready now, besides, everyone seems to be doing it now and I don't want to be left out." He huffed and kicked at a pile of snow as they walked.

The rattling of the old VW's engine caught their attention and Regina asked him to wait for her while she showed Emma all the area she wanted secured. The Mayor left her son alone for a moment and went to meet with the Deputy to arrange for safety and help her put signs preventing people from entering the lake.

"Hey, that hurt!" A male voice uttered and Henry turned around to look for the person talking, but he didn't find anyone and then his eyes watched the snow pile start moving until a snowman was standing before him. "Did you just talk?" Henry was baffled but excited at the same time. "Do you see anyone else here?" The snowman looked around. "And you just kicked me." He glared and removed his head to have a look at the damage. "You made an indentation in my bottom." The snowman said with sadness as he held his own head in his little hands to look at his rear end.

"Uh… I'm sorry." Henry apologized awkwardly and picked some snow from the ground to rebuild the snowman's butt but it ended up slightly bigger. "Oops! I may have put too much." Henry went to remove the excess but the snowman stopped him. "No! It's perfect, so round and squishy. It looks like a fluffy cloud, leave it." Olaf grinned and put back his head. "Okay..." Henry mumbled and quirked his lip in amusement.

"I'm Olaf." The snowman presented himself and looked with wide round eyes at the boy expecting a reply. "I'm Henry." The boy offered a hand and Olaf shook it. "So what brings you to Storybrooke? I take it you're not from around here." The young man looked closely at the curious character.

"Got that right!" The snowman exclaimed but then beckoned Henry to come closer and started whispering in his ear while looking suspiciously at their surrounding and covering his lips with wooden fingers. "I'm looking for Anna. We're playing hide and seek but Elsa already gave up and I want to find her so I can be the next to hide." He told him in secret and Henry's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait. You're THAT Olaf?" Henry looked closely and shook his head in disbelief.

"I see…" The snowman mumbled and then started moving his lips very slowly as he spoke. "Y-e-s… I'm O-l-a-f and I see you're a v-e-r-y special boy. Can you keep Olaf's secret so Anna doesn't know I'm getting close to her hideaway, p-l-e-a-s-e?" The curious creature asked him very slowly and patted his back kindly.

"Dude, I'm not slow." Henry got mad and blurted. "Well, kid, you sure fooled me." The snowman raised an eyebrow and started walking away. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Henry asked him as he tried to follow. "You sure you're not slow?" Olaf responded and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to find Anna."

"Henry!" Emma's voice sounded behind him and Henry had to stop following after the snowman and Olaf soon camouflaged with the white landscape. "I asked you not to go far." Regina told him after catching up with Emma and Henry. "Sorry, I just…" The boy was saying but stopped mid-sentence as it all clicked now. _Elsa, Olaf, Anna and Regina's white strand of hair… Of course!_

"Mom, did you have a fight with Elsa?" Henry asked out of the blue. "Of course not. Why do you ask?" Regina asked nervously and spared a glance at Emma, who looked at her momentarily and then away to evade Henry's stare. "Because I think I know now who she is and she's dangerous mom. You can't let her use her magic with you again, even if she doesn't mean to hurt you." Henry told her and Emma wanted to high five him but had to bite her lip and pretend to be clueless.

"I ... a... I haven't seen her since early in the morning, Henry, and she's not dangerous. She's just misunderstood." Regina defended her and Emma inevitably frowned. "And how do you know all of this?" His brunette mother had to ask. "Because of your hair change, her name and she needed help with her magic. We watched a movie about her last year in New York." He quickly formulated and Regina looked at Emma for a response. "That's true." Emma nodded and Regina sighed deeply.

"Haven't you learned that you can't believe everything you see or read in those silly Disney versions?" Regina glared and Henry looked down to the ground. "I'm just worried for you mom. If more of your hair turns white, you could eventually freeze and die." He closed his fists inside his pockets feeling impotence and fear of losing his mother. "Henry... Nothing will happen to me, honey." The brunette went to embrace her son and kissed his forehead tenderly.

Emma smiled at the touching scene and then looked at the landscape covered in snow. "It's getting even colder." She commented and then noticed a figure moving in the far back. "We should go home." The blonde said after noticing a platinum braid in the distance.

She slipped a hand behind Henry and then another behind Regina to walk together as if they were official. She turned lightly to glance behind her and her eyes met with Elsa's in challenge. Emma smiled in victory and continued walking but Regina gave her a stern glare because Henry was about to notice the way Emma was holding her.

A furious wind began blowing suddenly and they had to start running to make it to their cars before a storm hit.

"Elsa, you found me!" Olaf exclaimed as he came from behind a trash bin. "I wish you had been the only one I found here." Elsa muttered as she looked with anger at the woman claiming Regina for herself. "Who else was playing?" Olaf asked innocently and then turned to look at the family of three Elsa was watching so intently. "The special boy?" He asked. "No. It's _Emma_ who has stepped inside the game." She muttered and started walking firmly in direction of the street.

Olaf started following behind her and wondered what had made Elsa so unusually angry. "The lady in gray?" He asked as he tried to keep up. "No, the peasant in red." Elsa grumbled. "What are we playing now, Elsa?" He asked nervously. "Snowball-throwing, of course." She smirked as she felt her magic returning. "Great idea!" Olaf exclaimed and threw the first ball in direction of the woman dressed in red jacket.

Emma had just closed the door for Henry after he got inside Regina's car and she was going to go into her own car, when the unexpected ball hit her in the head. "Ah!" She grunted and turned around to look for the person who dared shooting a snowball at her, but she didn't see anyone, as Elsa had hidden behind Olaf and all Emma could see was a lifeless snowman standing a few yards from her. "Weird." She mumbled and made it to her car to leave.

"Olaf! She could've thought it was me." Elsa reprimanded him. "Isn't that the purpose of this game?" Olaf raised an eyebrow and looked at Elsa like she was a mad trip. "Right. Just... I am the only one who will be throwing her balls, okay? I need you to stay in the palace and protect it from strangers. Can you do that for me, please?" Elsa asked him politely.

Olaf looked at her and sighed deeply. "Alright, Elsa. I know when I'm not wanted." He feigned to weep and Elsa rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can roam around but please don't talk to anyone and, if someone gets close, pretend you're just a snowman." The lady told him. "Like in the old times?" He flashed his teeth in a wide grin. "Yes, just like in the old times. But, please, do stay out of sight." She pleaded.

* * *

At Regina's

The doorbell started calling and Regina went to open the door after washing her hands.

"Elsa." Regina's voice came out soft and her eyes filled with joy. "I have been worried about you all day. Why did you leave me like that? Why didn't you look back and come when I call-" She was saying when Elsa couldn't take it any longer and went forward to kiss crimson lips with despair. Regina was taken by surprise but it was a good kind of surprise and her own hands went to rest on Elsa's shoulders, forgetting for a moment about the visitor having dinner with Henry.

Elsa gave into a kiss for the first time without fear and forgot about the possible consequences of her emotional outburst. All she knew was she needed to feel Regina's warmth and savor those lips she had become addicted to, ever after that first taste. The cold stormy weather began ceasing outside and Regina's white strand of hair started glowing again, but this time it recovered its usual blackness and when their lips finally parted, Elsa was astounded at what had just happened.

"Regina!" She exclaimed and it took the brunette a moment to react, as she was still bedazzled by the kiss. "Ah... Yes?" Regina cleared her throat and decided to step down her porch. She then took Elsa's hand and guided her to a side of the house where Henry nor Emma wouldn't easily see them through the windows and remained holding that hand with no intention to let go.

"What was that?" Regina asked with a shy smile. "The best kiss I've had in my life." Elsa answered and smiled brightly. Regina felt happy to hear that and then noticed the weather had dramatically changed, as even the sun was starting to shine through clouds that were clearing.

"The weather. It really is connected to you." Regina commented and Elsa nodded in guilt, what made the sky began to loose vibrance soon after. "Do you know what this means?" Regina asked her gently. "That it is my fault you have a lot of repairs to do in your town?" Elsa said nervously and the wind started blowing cold again.

Emma noticed the weird swings in weather through one of the windows and Regina's long absence bothered her, so she decided to go have a look at the person who had dared interrupting her first family dinner with Henry and Regina in the mansion. Her brow furrowed when she couldn't find them by the entrance and then looked out the window, but she still couldn't see them.

"Ma, what are you doing?" Henry came behind her. "I was just wondering what could be taking your mom so long." Emma answered and went back to sit at the table. "Should we wait for her to finish or can we continue eating?" Henry asked confusedly. "You go ahead, Henry. I will wait." The blonde flashed a smile and focused her sight on the glass of white wine she had before her.

Emma then looked at her bowl of hot soup and had a brilliant idea. She picked up the silver spoon from her side and looked at the polished surface. _This should work as a mirror_. She thought and focused to make it show her Regina.

"That's meaningless to me, Elsa." Regina took her other hand in hers and brought them close to her own chest. "It means you are managing to control your emotions and magic. When you follow your heart's desire, you can do good things." Regina smiled widely. "You just need to break completely free so you can affect the weather no longer. You can do it, Elsa. I have faith in you." Regina assured her.

Elsa smiled warmly and then took one step closer. She looked into brown eyes with longing and thought about the possibility of Regina returning her feelings. Sure they had now kissed twice, but Elsa wasn't sure if the brunette shared the same feelings she knew she had for the Mayor._ What if Regina only did it to show her she could control her emotions?_ She was more experienced in how magic worked and maybe it had just been part of a test but not more.

"Regina..." Elsa whispered and begun leaning down slowly. _Would Regina turn away this time that she had the opportunity to do so?_ She had caught her earlier by surprise, so this was the real test for her now. "Yes?" Regina asked shyly and waited nervously for Elsa to say something, or perhaps kiss her again, and looked into green eyes with hopeful expectation. But this kiss would mean much more if they were both to give into it with full acceptance and conscience of their actions and both women felt a flutter in their stomachs.

"Ma?" Henry asked for a third time after noticing how firmly Emma was holding her spoon and how intently she was looking at it. Emma steeled her jaw at the sight of a kiss soon to happen between them and her magic inevitably manifested in the form of getting sucked into the image reflected in the polished surface of her spoon and appearing right in between both women.

"Oh my God! What did just happen?" Emma asked in disbelief and Regina and Elsa were both in shock and beyond furious. "Seriously, Ms. Swan?" Regina growled and Emma moved to a side carefully. "I didn't mean to interrupt... whatever you two were about to do." The girl in red jacket responded as she tried to walk away un-harmed. "Of course you did." Elsa muttered and ice crystals began appearing around Elsa and directing sharp points at the other woman _unintentionally_.

"Elsa, you can be in control." Regina placed a hand gently on her forearm and Elsa tried to calm down. "Don't let your emotions control you." Regina told her and it took Elsa all her might to stop feeling the insecurity and jealousy she was feeling that moment. Elsa focused in Regina's eyes and finally managed to make ice stalagmites melt and vaporize.

"You're right, Regina." Elsa took a deep breath. "I can be in control." The regal lady turned her gaze toward Emma's. "She isn't worth my time." Elsa turned around. "But neither should be yours." The regal lady muttered and started walking away from the other two, angry about Regina protecting Emma again.

"Elsa, come back! Stop running away." Regina caught up with her. "I will when you make up your mind." Elsa told her with a broken voice. "What do you mean?" Regina narrowed her eyes on her. "Isn't it obvious?" Elsa threw her hands in the air and it started snowing again, but it was a gentle snow this time; resembled to the one that appeared when Regina kissed her the first time. "I love you." The braided lady sadly confessed before vanishing in a cloud of snow.

Emma couldn't avoid feeling sympathy for Elsa this time. The other woman's expression had been of a broken heart and as much as Emma wanted to continue disliking her; she just couldn't, but that didn't change the fact that she was now a confessed rival in her love quest to gain back Regina.

"She's too hot tempered for someone with a heart of ice." Emma commented behind the brunette. "Shut up, Emma." Regina glared. "You're cute when you're mad." Emma whispered behind her ear and Regina didn't know whether to punch her in the face or laugh at the stupid comment. _Better ignore her._

"I'm going inside. My soup must have probably turned cold by now." The brunette started walking. "I could warm it for you_, Madam Mayor_." Emma teased and Regina was completely baffled. Emma had never flirted with her _like that_, or with anyone at all, in the time she had known her. "Stop hanging out with Hook, Miss Swan. For a moment, I could almost swear you were that lecherous one handed pirate." Regina told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

They finished their meals in what was the most uncomfortable dinner they'd ever experienced. Henry had been the only one attempting to establish a conversation but it always ended in a yes, no or maybe. His mothers clearly didn't want to cross words or even gazes with one another, for what was enough to gather from their unusual demeanor.

"Thank you for dinner. It was really delicious." Emma smiled gently at Henry and Regina as they stood by the doorframe. "Sure." Regina cut her quick. The blonde went to kiss Henry's forehead and then tried to go after a hug with Regina, but the brunette shot her a _piss-off _glare and Emma just bit her lip and turned on her heel to leave the mansion. "See ya tomorrow, ma!" Henry said behind her and Emma waved a hand before entering her lousy bug.

At Elsa's

The Ice Queen spent the rest of the evening crying alone in her bedroom, overwhelmed at the realization of her true feelings for Regina. _How did I fall so easily for someone? _She kept questioning herself and felt miserable. Nothing good ever came from her giving into love and she inhaled deeply. "Maybe it is all for the best." She wanted to convince herself she had to give up in the matters of the heart.

This jealousy was turning her into a person she didn't recognize and she didn't really want to harm anyone. Emma was an annoying woman but she really had no reasons to hate her. It was up to Regina to realize which was her heart's desire now and Elsa felt hopeless. Emma and Regina shared a son and had more history together than she could ever compete with. Besides, her love life had always been doomed to fail. "How could I forget that?"

* * *

(Flashback)

"I believe you are here to see me." The wizard's voice came from behind her in the forest. Krystal had already left and Elsa had been following the wanted signs with Snow White's face to find her way into the realm. "Are you the dark wizard?" Elsa asked nervously and Rumplestiltskin appeared right next to her in the blink of an eye. "That should answer your question, dearie." He sneered.

Elsa told him she needed him to change her appearance, so she could return to her own land and take her sister with her without anyone recognizing her. Rumplestiltskin told her it was quite possible but the price for his service was always steep. "Anything to save my sister from Hans." Elsa mumbled and Rumplestiltskin remembered the name. He approached her more closely and pushed back the hood of her cloak so he could see the face she kept hiding. He grimaced at recognizing her and a glint of malice appeared in his eye.

"The Queen of Arendelle! Of course I would be more than happy to help you." He told her and slipped an arm around her frame and started walking with her. "What is the price?" She stopped walking and faced him. "Price? Nonsense! For you, highness, it will be my pleasure doing it out of honest caring." He made a reverence and Elsa was unconvinced. "I would much rather pay, Wizard." She insisted and pulled out the crown she had offered Krystal earlier.

"Well, if you insist." Rumplestiltskin took it and smiled contently at something he saw there. "No one will recognize you, dearie, but there is a catch to the effects of such a spell." The sorcerer forewarned. "What is it, Sorcerer?" She asked and Rumplestiltskin told her she would have no magic for as long as she was under the shape-shifting spell. "I'm still willing to take the risk." Elsa insisted and Rumplestiltskin giggled in excitement.

Crimson smoke engulfed her body and she was turned into a peasant nobody would recognize or care for. "How will Anna recognize me? She won't want to come with a stranger." Elsa asked him. "The spell will wear off once you have reached to her bedchambers." He answered. "Have a safe trip, _my__ Queen_." He waved a hand behind her and watched her walk away.

Rumplestiltskin then looked at the crown again and removed a thin platinum hair from it. He put it inside a small container with liquid contents and held it up against the moonlight. His potion began glowing and he smirked with satisfaction.

Noise started coming from a pile of old rags and Rumplestiltskin turned to look at it with a grimace. "What to do with the extra luggage?" He singsong and then had an idea. He snapped his fingers together and made the animal he had captured turn into a small carved wood reindeer and brought it with him to place it over a shelf in the library of his castle.

"That's a lovely sculpture." Belle pointed at the reindeer and Rumplestiltskin feigned not to care. "Nobody asked you. Go back to your duties, woman." He shooed her away but she smiled behind him.

Elsa found Sven tied to a tree on her way back and wondered what had happened with Krystal. She approached the nervous reindeer slowly and, after the animal looked into green-blue eyes, it recognized who she really was. He looked like he wanted to tell her something but the now brunette haired lady couldn't understand him. "I'm sorry, Sven, I can't speak reindeer." She told him and felt desperate but then her eyes noticed a letter tucked in the bag hanging on his side.

_I figured you would need a ride back home. I've decided to take my own path but couldn't leave a lady like yourself to walk all the way back to Arendelle. Please take good care of my dear friend and maybe one day I will come back for him. It's a promise. Krystal._

Elsa felt sad for a moment because Krystal wouldn't be joining her in this quest but it was perhaps for the best, as it would be a dangerous one and she didn't want to put her in risk. The only thing that gave her solace was that last line she read; Krystal's promise to come back one day.

Elsa mounted the reindeer and took path back to Arendelle. She had to stop to rest when the night fell but as the first ray of light shone in the sky, she got back on track. She thanked Sven for keeping up with her demands and was glad to finally distinguish her realm in the distance.

She entered through big gates with the obedient reindeer and guards didn't pay much mind to the poor looking woman. They let her pass after checking the supplies she carried in the bag tied to the reindeer and she was soon walking in the core of her kingdom.

The sound of trumpets caught her attention and then heard as servants of her castle went through the streets announcing the new coronation. She was already expecting it, but actually hearing and seeing about it made her stomach twist with mixed feelings. There was anger on the surface, but what lied beneath was pain and a foreign feeling she had not embraced before.

She felt hope and new fire burned inside her chest with resolution to take back her kingdom and return it to its sunlit days. She was no longer lonely and she could see herself occupying the throne with a person next to her. "Krystal." She mumbled and the reindeer turned to look at her with hope she could recognize the soul trapped behind round eyes. "I miss her too." She told the reindeer and petted his nose.

Those last days in her company had given her a new perspective and balance. Her magic had not manifested during the time she had been with her and there was just something about Krystal that gave her control over her emotions and it also filled her with unusual warmth. "Come, let's go." Elsa called on the animal and they moved carefully around the castle.

Elsa knew the palace like the back of her hand and could easily find a way inside. Playing in secret with Anna during her childhood had taught her all the secret passages the old castle encompassed. "Stay here and don't make noise." She ordered Sven and covered his body with the old rags she had been wearing over her royal dress. She gave him the last apples and carrots Krystal's old leather bag carried and then managed to make her hair look more presentable.

She snuck inside the palace and moved with the same grace her many keepers carried. There were so many servants that she could easily pass as one of them but nobody was really paying attention, as all of them were busy with the preparations for the coronation.

She peeked into one of the service bedchambers and then stole an apron and dress to get changed. She moved upstairs and told royal guards the Queen had requested her afternoon tea and they let her pass with the tray and teapot.

Once inside Anna's bedchambers, her look started slowly changing. "Elsa?" Her sister asked with doubt after brown mane turned platinum blonde. "Anna!" Her sister went forward to embrace her and got lost in the emotional moment. She held onto her sister tightly and started weeping. "I thought you were dead." Anna said to her and her own tears began falling. "No. I was banned from the lands, but I will fight for them and I will free you from Hans's spell." Her older sister told her.

"What spell?" Anna broke the embrace and glared. "There's no time to waste, sister, please just come with me." Elsa grabbed onto her hand and pulled her to start walking. "I'm not going anywhere… and neither are you, witch." Her sister said with a dark voice and a figure came to join them from the shadows.

Hans was speaking to a red glowing object and with every word that left his mouth, her own sister's lips replicated his speech. "What have you done to her?" Elsa asked with fear and tried to summon her magic, but her shape-shifting spell hadn't completely worn off and there was no magic to make use of.

"This should have been your heart, Elsa. We could've saved ourselves all the trouble." He approached slowly and caressed Anna's cheek with the back of his hand. "Isn't she a doll?" Hans asked with sarcasm and Elsa's eyes flickered silver in anger.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" She yelled and magic started flickering around her hands. "No-no. If you summon your magic, she dies. All it would take is a gentle squeeze." He threatened and begun pressing at Anna's heart, what made the younger girl groan in pain and fall on her knees by Hans's feet.

"Please don't hurt her! I will leave and never come back. You can keep the crown you so much want." Elsa said with a strained voice. "Poor Elsa…" He told her with false pity as he brought his face closer to hers. "If only someone had ever loved you to break that curse cast upon you." He whispered in her ear and Elsa was baffled. "What? Speak clear." She demanded.

"Guards!" Hans raised his voice and several knights came through the door. "The urn." He ordered and one of them brought it to his feet. "Since I can't trust you staying away from my kingdom, I will have to keep my kingdom away from you." He told her and removed the lid from the vase.

A vortex of black dust started twisting around her and Elsa got sucked inside the enchanted vase her parents had once gotten from the dark wizard. Elsa couldn't understand what was happening as her body turned into a cold liquid, but she could still hear the voices talking outside before completely melting inside the magical prison.

"I have come to collect payment, Highness." The Dark One said to him. "Not after you give me what you promised, Rumplestiltskin." Hans grimaced. "Have I ever let you down, _prince_ Hans?" The warlock looked into his eyes and Hans refrained from correcting the new title.

Hans gave him the urn containing Elsa and in return, he received two potions from the dark sorcerer. "Just pour this on her drink and it will be as if Elsa had never even been born." He told him and Hans grinned contently. Having a puppet for a wife wasn't as exciting as he had thought in the beginning and he no longer needed to possess her heart so literally.

The wizard vanished from his kingdom with the urn and Hans looked at the silver glowing potion with an evil grin. "I have a better idea." He mumbled.

Hans went to the main spring from which their realm retrieved their fresh water and poured the contents of the potion inside it. The water glowed briefly and then he knew his plan would work correctly. "No one will ever remember the witch existed." He said with satisfaction and then drank from the second bottle he received. "Except for me, of course."

Krystal had followed the false King and heard what his plan had been. She pretended to be eating pasture when the power hungry man looked at the reindeer suspiciously but paid it no mind, as it was only an animal. Krystal decided to make a trip back to the Enchanted Forest and make her own deal with the evil wizard to recover her human shape again. She avoided drinking the tainted waters and instead would only have snow for hydration during her trip.

"You don't have to keep running, _deerie_." The warlock chuckled and appeared beside a tree to talk with the reindeer. Krystal looked up at him and glared angrily, as she couldn't come to speak because of her animal body. "Sorry, I can't make a deal if I can't understand part of the agreement." The Dark One mocked her and the reindeer snorted.

"Elsa is my property now, she's not up for bargains." Rumplestiltskin told her and Krystal charged at him but he just evaded her like a bullfighter. "Only a selfless act of love will break the curse I personally cast on her. So unless you can give her True Love's kiss, I'm afraid your cause is a lost battle." He grimaced and vanished.

Rumplestiltskin opened the lid on the vase after getting into his secret vault. He let Elsa come out of the urn and offered her a deal she might be interested in. "I will cast no curse on your behalf, Evil Warlock." Elsa told her and her magic began manifesting. "After everything you've done to me, what makes you believe I would?" She confronted him and shot her raging energy against him, She hit him by the feet and he laughed at her for a moment.

But it was a laugh that didn't last long, as cold stalagmites rose from the ground up and trapped half of his body inside. By now, Elsa had surpassed her level of tolerance and she was determined to break free and save her sister from the torment of submitting to these vile manipulative men and her magic continued growing with her rage.

The Dark One had difficulty with managing to escape her wrath and when he finally shattered ice, Elsa trapped him again by making his right side paralyze. "This is as far as you will go, Rumplestiltskin. I am done with being the good girl everyone expects me to be. I will recover what is rightfully mine and I don't care if I have to darken my heart in the process." She said with a much lower voice while she approached him slowly.

"I didn't know one could rip out hearts. Thanks for giving me the useful idea." She said dangerously and turned her hand into a claw, ready to burrow inside his chest. "Wait! If you kill me now, you won't be able to see your Krystal ever again." Rumplestiltskin warned her. "What have you done to her?" Elsa turned pale and tugged on his vest with anger.

"I propose a new deal." Rumplestiltskin told her. "If you go inside the vase on your own accord, I will let her live a peaceful life. But if you try to escape or kill me, she will die with me." He told her and Elsa closed her fists in anger. "How can I trust you, if all you do is turn everything in your favor?" Elsa questioned. "You really can't and shouldn't." He smirked cynically. "But I never break a deal and everyone knows that." He gave her his word.

Elsa allowed him to move and the dark wizard transported them back to the forest. "She's right there." He pointed at the reindeer eating snow. "That's Sven, not Krystal." Elsa glared and made a choker of ice appear around his neck and squeeze him slowly. "Look again." He said with difficulty and crimson smoke turned the reindeer back into a woman.

"Krystal!" Elsa ran in her direction and hugged her tightly. "I thought I would never see you again." She started crying. "Elsa!" Krystal exclaimed and cupped her face in her hands. "I made you a promise and I never really left your side." She told her warmly and looked into her eyes with softness.

"I've complied to my part of the deal, dearie." Rumplestiltskin appeared next to them.

"The curse! No…" Krystal mumbled. "Elsa, I love you." She told her and pulled her into her arms before Rumplestiltskin would open the lid of the urn he held in his hands. "What?" Elsa was perplexed but Krystal didn't give her a chance to say another word and went for a kiss. She claimed her lips with hers and the green-eyed girl was overwhelmed by her feelings. She remembered her deal with the wizard and the pain of having to part from the side of the only person that had thawed her heart, made deep sorrow take over.

As sadness and pain got the best of her, magic began manifesting in the negative way she had grown up fearing. Golden hair was the first thing to change, as it quickly turned white and then Krystal's body became translucent with the long kiss they shared. When Elsa finally managed to pull away from her partner's strong grip, it was already too late. "No! Help me, Rumplestiltskin!" Elsa begged to him.

"Sorry, dearie, but your magic is too unpredictable even for me to undo what you started." He answered and put the urn over the ground. "I believe we have a deal waiting to be paid." He pointed to the vase and Elsa cried with impotence. "You promised she would live a peaceful life." Elsa yelled at him.

"What could be more peaceful than eternal life as a sculpture of ice?" He chuckled. "I told you I was a man who kept his word." He grinned and opened the vessel. "Now, get inside." He muttered but Elsa refused to leave Krystal's side.

Rumplestiltskin summoned a ball of fire in his hand and threatened with making her beloved friend melt until not a drop was left behind. Elsa had no choice but to obey now and let the void suck her right back inside.

"Ah! People are so gullible." He shook his head. All it had taken him was to lie about a false curse cast upon Elsa to unravel a chain of events that got him yet another valuable relic to save for a rainy day. If Regina failed to cast the curse for him, he could still manage to get Elsa to do it. He had Anna under control and a heart frozen in time to be used if needed for the curse.

"Really, why does everyone believe every word I say?" He scratched his head. "I'm the Dark One and that's not even a nickname." He shrugged. "You will make a fancy fountain to welcome my clients." He engulfed the sculpture in crimson smoke and made it appear at the front of his castle. "Perfect ornament to remind them about the price of magic."

* * *

_A/N: Finally done explaining how Elsa got into Rumple's possession!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about the wait. Big chapter to compensate! I wasn't really inspired to continue and am having difficulty with this story now, since I ship both Swan Queen and Frozen Queen hard. Like one of you said in the comments; a threesome never bothered me anyway. lmao! **Warning: Adult theme ahead. **No, it's not a threesome! lol_

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
Chapter 7**

* * *

The grumbling in her stomach made Elsa wake up and remember she had not tried a single bite after that morning. Remembering the past and mourning about her possible lack of a future with Regina had kept her uninterested all day. "I need to start thinking about my present." Elsa got up from her bed and looked at her surrounding. "If I'm going to be stuck in Storybrooke, I'll need a job."

Elsa went to the mirror in her vanity and had a look at her face. She had reddened eyes and traces of tears that had dried out during her sleep. She didn't know at which point she had succumbed into sleep but the moon rising outside of her balcony showed her it wasn't too late to start looking.

"Maybe I still have time to find a business open to apply." She mumbled and washed her face with cold water. She appeared new lavender shadow in her eyes and stained her lips with a plum color to go with the elegant black pantsuit Regina had let her borrow.

She vanished in a white mist of snowflakes and appeared in the heart of the town, right in the middle of the street. A car honked loudly and doc yelled at her from his recently fixed Miata. "Get out the way!" The old dwarf shouted and Elsa became a little nervous but there was only another car in the road and she made it to the sidewalk quickly. "Phew! That was close." She mumbled and then started walking downtown.

She saw a small furniture shop and decided to enter, but the old man tending the business told her he wasn't looking for any helpers. His young boy always helped him and he couldn't afford hiring a worker yet. "It's quite alright, kind Sir. I'm afraid I couldn't carve wood with the skill and detail you and your son have mastered." Elsa made a light reverence and turned around to leave. "You can call me Geppetto, lovely lady. And I wish you good luck in your search." The old man waved a hand and Elsa smiled warmly before closing the door behind her.

She continued looking but most businesses had closed, except for one. "The Rabbit Hole?" She read the neon sign and decided to enter, but the smell of smoke quickly invaded her nostrils and made her sneeze. _*ah-choo*_

"Bless you." A male voice said to her and Elsa had to narrow her gaze, as it was dark and she couldn't clearly see who exactly talked to her. "Thank you." She said to the man having a drink by the bar and walked closer.

_Oooh… Blessed me._ The man thought after seeing the beautiful woman approaching. He got up from his stool and tightened the tie around his neck, he then quickly fixed his not very abundant hair and just tried to look his best, but there wasn't much the dwarf could do for his humble self. His eyes went down and up on Elsa and then he was the one to sneeze.

"Ugh… Sorry." He blushed and Elsa smiled kindly. "Bless you." She said gently and both of them smiled. "I'm sorry, has the cold weather made you sick?" Elsa asked worriedly and with a hint of guilt.

"Not really, I just sneeze all the time. It's kind of my thing. I'm even named after it." The dwarf said with lightly flushed cheeks. "Name's Sneezy." He offered his hand to Elsa after wiping it clean. The blonde smiled warmly and gave him her hand; she expected him to kiss it respectfully, like they did in her old realm, but instead he shook it firmly in a friendly manner. _That's new. _"I'm Elsa." She answered soon after.

"That's a lovely na- *achoo* - Sorry." The poor dwarf sneezed again and Elsa couldn't avoid chuckling lightly and tried to hide her giggle behind her hand. "You don't look like someone who would hang out in a bar like this." He looked again at her and her formal attire. "You look like someone who could run for Mayor, if there were ever elections." He told her. "And I would vote for you for sure!" He winked but it wasn't really making him look handsome.

_The Mayor._ Elsa sighed at hearing Regina's modern time noble title. "You flatter me, Mr. Sneezy, and you are quite right. I've come here because I found myself in the need of a job." She told him and looked at the surroundings. "Would you happen to know who the owner of this tavern is?" She asked.

"That would be Randy, but this is no place for you." He told her. Randy had a popularity of sorts with women but not because of his charms, but for the lack of. "Have you tried applying in Granny's?" He asked her.

"Not yet. I'm new in town and I don't remember where the diner is." Elsa answered and her brow furrowed. "So you have been there before. It's close by. If you want, I can take you there and maybe… maybe you could let me invite you a burger?" He offered shyly. "A burger?" Elsa asked with confusion because she didn't know what that was.

"Oh!" _Could she be on a diet?_ He wondered. "Of course, it doesn't have to be a burger. Apple pie? Wait, not that. A sandwich, or maybe just coffee… Could it be a salad?" He nervously offered more choices and Elsa had a hard time trying to suppress her need to laugh, but it was the sound of Elsa's hungry stomach what made Sneezy smile now.

"So what do you say?" He asked her and Elsa's face turned bright red in embarrassment. "Apple pie sounds lovely." She smiled and followed behind the kind dwarf. "Sweet tooth, I like that!" He said cheerfully and Elsa chuckled.

When they got inside the diner, Ruby found it strange to see Elsa with the dwarf. They made quite an interesting couple and she had to bite her lip to avoid giggling at the funny image. Elsa was already a tall woman and with the heels she was wearing, Sneezy looked like a child beside her. "What should I get you?" The waitress asked them.

"Two apple pies, a cup of coffee and… What would you like to drink, Elsa? The dwarf asked. "Lemon tea would be perfect, thank you." She answered and Ruby took note to come back later with their order. After a couple of minutes with not much talk between them, Ruby appeared with the treats and they were happy to see the big slices of pie topped with cream.

"Cream?" Elsa didn't remember asking for the topping. "Just to make it more special." Ruby winked an eye and Elsa noticed the cream was put in the shape of a heart. "Enjoy your date!" The waitress said before leaving again and Sneezy sneezed nervously. "Date?" Elsa mumbled with confusion. "Ah! Ruby must have thought I'm courting you, Elsa. No, this is just a friendly hang out… but if you want it could be a date, or not. No. I… we came here for pie and a job." He was a nervous mess again.

Elsa placed a hand gently over one of the dwarf's and looked at him with kindness. "Sneezy, I already have someone special but I would love being your friend if you can accept that." The lady said kindly. "Phew!" Sneezy retrieved his hand to wipe his forehead with a handkerchief. "Friends would be great." He said honestly because dwarves weren't really made for dating and this lame attempt had reminded him how awkward it felt to interact with women this way.

"Thank you." Elsa smiled warmly and looked back to her apple pie with the creamy heart. _Why does even this remind me of Regina? _She sighed lightly and took a small bite from the dessert, despite how hungry she felt. _Modals. _She had to remind herself.

After finishing their pies, Elsa asked Ruby about a job and the brunette was confused for a moment but decided to ask her grandmother anyway. "Sure. With all the new people that came in the last curse, we could use an extra pair of hands." Granny told them and Elsa was hired.

"You start at six sharp in the morning because we open at seven for breakfast." The old lady said firmly. "I promise I'll be punctual, Mrs…?" Elsa looked in question to the mature lady. "Just call me Granny." The woman told her. "Granny, I'm very grateful for your kindness." Elsa answered and Granny was surprised by her formality and good modals.

"Hopefully, Ruby can learn more from you than you have to learn from her." Granny blurted and her granddaughter looked at her in question. "You come at six, too, Ruby. Someone's gotta teach the newbie." She said and Ruby glared. She preferred the late shift but now she had no choice but to return to her early schedule. _*Sigh*_

* * *

The next morning, Elsa arrived in time just as promised and Ruby came a couple of minutes after, yawning in evident lack of sleep and somewhat annoyed by having to train the rookie. But Elsa learned quickly and she was surprisingly kind, in contrast to what Emma had told Ruby about her experience with the new resident in Storybrooke.

Growing up in a palace and having had maids by her service all her life, had taught Queen Elsa kindness and benevolence to those who lived to serve. She knew what was expected from them and now she would prove she could very well serve with the same pride and humbleness she had time ago experienced. _Can't be too hard, right?_

The bell by the entrance sounded and both waitresses watched the door open and Emma come through. "I'll get this one." Ruby said to Elsa and the blonde went to stand behind the bar, looking from time to time at Emma. Though, Emma didn't recognize her immediately because of the white and red uniform, but after feeling her piercing stare, she had to look again and noticed the familiar platinum braid_. Is that Elsa? _She was puzzled.

"Emma! I asked what you were having." Ruby spoke more loudly after Emma didn't answer the first and second time she asked her for her order. "Huh? Sorry. Can you give me Regina's usual?" Emma asked after turning to look at the brunette and Elsa's ears picked up on the name. "Why? You on a diet, plump cheeks?" Ruby chuckled. "No… I just want to do something different for a change." Emma grumbled.

"Hmm… You're never around here this early, which already speaks wonders, and you want something light... Is it breakfast in bed?" Ruby teased her. "I wish. No. I just…" Emma beckoned her friend to come closer to nearly whisper. "I want her to find it in her desk with a note and invite her for supper tonight." Emma shared in secret after noticing Elsa pretending to clean an already clean table close behind them.

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Ruby shook her head. "HER? Please explain. Last time I checked, Hook was a male." The werewolf was completely thrown off. "Hook? That's not working for me. Just give me my damn order and I'll explain later." Emma pointed with her eyebrow toward Elsa, who was paying too much attention at the pair of women.

"No! You're telling me now." Ruby moved her lips but used a lower volume to demand more information. "Nope." Emma shook her head and Ruby sighed. "Okay, but you will spare no details later!" The brunette warned her before going into the kitchen.

After some minutes, the wolf girl came back with her to-go package. "Un-sweetened dairy-free coffee and a veggie wrap to go." Ruby told her. "Doesn't sound fun or edible." Emma commented. "Just like the Mayor." Ruby teased and Emma's brow furrowed.

"You don't know her." She glared and Ruby narrowed her gaze on Emma; she then placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder with fake worry. "Has she ripped out your heart?" The brunette asked. "She wouldn't need to." Emma answered and turned on her heel to leave before getting asked any more questions.

Elsa had overheard and couldn't avoid feeling jealousy. She took a deep breath and tried to soothe it, as her workplace wouldn't be a place where to let her unstable magic manifest right on her first day. She sighed and watched as Emma made it through the door but then looked at the coffee in one of Emma's hands and knew Regina's lips would be sipping from that cup. "Maybe I could send her a little something, as well." She mumbled and brought her fingertips to her lips, she blew a kiss and a sparkly white light enchanted the cup's rim.

When Regina came into her office, she found a coffee cup over her desk, a small take-out box and a little note atop. "Yesterday wasn't what I had in mind. Would you let me make it up to you for the uncomfortable time? Clock tower at 8 p.m. Emma." The Mayor read from the post-it; she quirked her eyebrow in consideration and then tossed the piece of paper in her trashcan.

Regina opened the little box containing a veggie wrap and raised an eyebrow but a faint smile appeared in her lips. She went to sit down in her _Storybrooke throne_ and then dialed the extension connecting her line to the Deputy's.

The old phone in Emma's desk started ringing and the blonde went to pick up the call. "Deputy, Emma Swan. How may I-" Emma began answering but a familiar smoky voice then came through her speaker. "To my office." Regina said shortly and hang up.

Emma immediately followed after Regina's command and knocked on the Mayor's door to enter. "Come in." Regina answered and Emma sauntered to her desk and looked at Regina with mixed confusion, nervousness and expectation. _*gulp*_ "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes…" Regina took a bit of time to continue. "I already had breakfast, Ms. Swan." Regina pushed the little box further to the front on her desk and Emma's eyebrows went down in defeat. "But I appreciate the gesture and could use the coffee." She told her soon after noticing Emma's sad puppy semblance. "Thank you." She said with difficulty and stopped talking.

"No prob..." Emma noticed her note was no longer over the lid of the box. "Anything else you wanna tell me?" She asked while leaning down slowly to level her face with the Mayor's and looked for caramel eyes as she picked the little box from the desk.

"That's all, Deputy. You may go back to your duties." Regina dismissed her and Emma frowned. "Will I see you at eight?" Emma asked directly. "Thou shall find out in the evening, Savior." Regina avoided her gaze and Emma turned to leave with no answer. She rolled her eyes as she left the office and grumbled about Regina being so_ Regina._

When Emma closed the door behind her, Regina turned to look at the cup of coffee and smiled. No one had ever had that kind of gesture with her before, out of honest interest and courting. "Lets see if you got it right, Emma." Regina mumbled and brought the cup to her mouth, but when her lips touched the rim; a white sparkling mist shimmered around her and she could almost swear it had felt like a kiss. The scent of mint mixed with chocolate then surprised her senses and she could only think about one person that moment.

"Elsa?" She whispered and brought her fingertips to her lips. She looked inside her cup for anything that could prove it was a message from the Queen of Arendelle, but she only found a thin black liquid that tasted like her usual un-sweetened black coffee and she sighed deeply. She then went into her restroom and poured the contents of her bitter cup into the sink. "Where have you gone to?" Regina wondered.

"The mirror!" Regina exclaimed. _How didn't I think about using it before?_ She focused on the mirror in the restroom and it soon showed her the Queen of Arendelle, dressed up in white and red like the other waitresses in Granny's diner. "What the?" Regina felt puzzled but quickly realized Elsa was still adjusting to Storybrooke and she had no home, job or any family in this side of the world. "Where has she been spending her nights?" Regina felt worried.

There was a lot of paperwork waiting in Regina's desk after months of neglecting since before the last curse. When they left to search for Henry in Neverland, it all began piling up and never stopped. It didn't help either that returning to Storybrooke meant there had been a new villain, and administrative work was just overwhelming for Regina at this point.

She had no choice but to advance as much as she could and she would go look for her new friend when she had some more time later. Regina had decades of experience behind her and could indeed advance faster than what anyone else would dream of, but some things just required a double check and they drained her last bits of energy. _A nap will do._

When it was time to pick up Henry, Emma came to ask Regina if she wanted her to do it but after not receiving an answer from the Mayor, she quietly peeked inside the office and saw Regina had fallen asleep on her couch. "I guess I'll pick him up and take him to my mother's." She mumbled and carefully closed the door without making any noise.

* * *

At Granny's, Elsa continued working hard and everyone who had been attended by her raved about the wonderful service she provided. She was beyond attentive and so graciously formal, it made them feel like royalty. The tips kept coming and, while they were still modest, they were higher than what any of the other waitresses made usually. Not even Ruby's charms earned her the extra dollars Elsa's humbleness gathered.

But all good things came to an end and it was time for Elsa to finish her prolonged shift and go home to rest. And when Granny called her to the small office behind the diner, Elsa feared she hadn't passed the test, even when she stayed longer than her shift required.

"I don't know who you were or what you did for a living before Storybrooke." Granny raised an eyebrow accusingly. "But I can clearly tell you served royalty." She said bluntly and then gave her the pay of the day plus tips. "You earned it." Granny told her. "Are you… dismissing me? Have I done something that displeased you, Ma'am?" Elsa asked worriedly. She wasn't used to the blunt way of speaking of the older woman and thought she was displeased by her performance.

"Nonsense, girl. You're the best I've had in decades. You're not going anywhere." The old lady told her and it made Elsa smile and blush lightly. "Get some rest and don't be late tomorrow. Don't think your pretty face will get you special treatment." The lady told her and Elsa vowed lightly. She removed her apron and then went outside to walk away from public sight so she could transport home with magic.

The clock in the tower showed it was ten minutes past five and there was a lot of people around the streets. It would be dinnertime soon and the small town seemed more active than ever at that hour. "Can't use my magic here." She mumbled and then realized something. "Olaf! I completely forgot." She jumped and started looking around for her dear friend. _Where could he have gone?_

Elsa looked in the park but found no traces of her snowman. It also struck her to see the frozen lake had began melting and there wasn't much snow left around town in general. _Could he have melted? _She got worried and took on a faster step.

She looked in dark corners, as she had ordered him not to come to public display and keeping a low profile, but searching for him this way had made her peek inside lonely alleys and it was becoming unsettling as the sun continued going down. "Olaf?" Elsa asked after hearing some noises in a dark alley but when she came closer to the figure moving in the shadows, a big stray dog suddenly emerged from behind a trash bin and Elsa started running to escape it.

The dog kept following after her and their encounter finally ended when Regina watched the girl running in the street with a dog behind her. She pushed the breaks in her car abruptly before running her over and waved a hand to make the vicious dog turn into a white fuzzy puppy. She parked her car one block away from the clock tower and ran to Elsa's ais, who was now sitting by the sidewalk breathing agitatedly.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" Regina asked worriedly and helped her stand up. "I am now." The woman answered with relief while catching her breath. "It can't hurt you now." Regina smiled as she pointed to the small dog. "Thank you, Regina." Elsa said after hearing the puppy cry for their attention.

"He must have been hungry." Elsa commented and parted from Regina's almost embrace; she went to pick the puppy from the street and cuddled it on her lap. "Regina, could you please…?" Elsa didn't need to finish asking before Regina summoned a bowl with kibble for the puppy and Elsa smiled with gratitude. "Are you adopting him now?" Regina asked curiously. "Maybe... I just wanted to feed him." Elsa shrugged and put the puppy down so he could eat.

"Speaking of which. Why are you working at Granny's?" Regina asked her and it caught the Ice Queen by surprise. "How do you know?" Elsa asked in return but then remembered the magical message she sent in Emma's coffee. _Of course she would know_. She became nervous.

"Elsa…" Was the only word from Regina. The brunette took a deep breath and sighed. She remembered the strange enchantment on the coffee cup she drank earlier and how much it reminded her of Elsa. "Have you been practicing magic?" Regina asked with curiosity as they went to sit on a bench. "No… Yes." Elsa mumbled and looked at her hands nervously.

Regina decided to break the sudden silence. "I went to the diner looking for you but they said you had already left and I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would come on your own to share the news."

"I didn't want to disturb you. You're the Mayor and must have so much work in your office that it would seem selfish of me to demand from your time, just to speak about something so insignificant." Elsa turned up her gaze into the sky. "I got a job, it isn't that big of a deal."

"Except, it is. You're Queen but you're doing the work of a maid here." Regina's brow furrowed. "You should be doing what you were born to." The brunette mumbled and then had an idea. "Why don't you help me in the office? I have so much work I would need to split in two, just so I could catch up with a third of what is pending."

Elsa tore her gaze from the starry sky and looked into dark eyes apologetically. "I can't accept the offer but I thank you, Regina." Elsa answered calmly. "Why?" Regina was perplexed. "I like serving others in the way I once was served. There is an honor and humility to it and I gave my word I would be working tomorrow and the day after." The blonde smiled warmly and Regina felt something move inside her.

"Are you sure?" She asked bewildered and Elsa nodded lightly. "I am and I have pride in what I do." Blue-green eyes sat in brown for a moment. "This is a new beginning for me. No one fears me here and I like feeling welcomed by everyone. I hope you can understand." She smiled apologetically and Regina returned the gesture.

"Actually, I do." Regina told her and sighed deeply. "But, Elsa, where are you staying? Have you already found a place?" Regina remembered to ask. "I have." Elsa smiled gently and placed a hand over Regina's but then remembered overhearing Emma with Ruby earlier and she turned to look at the tower.

The clock on the tower showed it was soon going to be eight and Elsa noticed Emma's car coming from the opposite side of the street. "I should be going. It's late and I don't want to take more of your time." She smiled with a hint of sadness and got up from her seat. "See you tomorrow, Regina." She said and didn't give Regina time to react. A white powder of snow appeared and with it, Elsa's presence vanished.

Regina turned to look in the direction Elsa had been watching moments before leaving and noticed Emma getting out of her car and taking out a basket with things. "So that's why you disappeared." Regina mumbled and felt guilty. _Emma or Elsa… Whom should she follow after?_ Regina was torn in between.

She went into her car for her cellphone and called the Deputy, who hadn't noticed the black Mercedes a block away.

"Hey." Emma answered with excitement upon noticing the name in the ID. "You coming?" She asked with hope. "Emma, I'm sorry but I can't make it." There was a long pause from both ends of the line. "I thought I should let you know." Regina apologized. "Okay. I understand." Emma took a deep breath. "I hadn't even gotten there yet, thanks for the heads up." She lied and it made Regina feel a bit bad because she could see her from her own car across.

Emma slammed the door on the bug with frustration and started the engine. She drove back to Mary Margaret's to pick up Henry and he would be helping her moving stuff into the new apartment. She was upset but understood Regina had had a long day, as she had seen her fall asleep in the office and the brunette even agreed to let Henry stay with her for the night. _Maybe another time._

Regina waited for Emma to drive away and got lost in thought, but the cry of the puppy walking on the street recovered her attention. "Look what Elsa left behind." She smirked. _This should count as property._ She thought and placed the locator spell on the puppy but she turned him back into an adult and followed with her car after the dog started running in direction of the forest.

* * *

Regina had to park when they got into forestland and looked up as the dog began hiking the mountain. "Where on earth has she hidden?" Regina complained and then caught sight of the thing reflecting light at the peak of the mountain. "No way." She mumbled but then used her magic to get closer.

She felt the chill of the snowy mountain quickly and summoned a thicker coat to protect her from the cold. She hiked the last distance to approach the ice palace and was astounded by the beautiful building the Queen of Arendelle had created. _She doesn't know much about magic but can do this? _Regina was greatly impressed.

Regina suddenly heard noise coming from behind her and she thought it was the dog that had finally made it up, but when she turned around, a gigantic fearsome snowman was rising from white ground. "No…" She mumbled and rolled over snow after evading his attack. Another big fist swung in the air and Regina threw a fireball ball at it this time. It made his arm melt but another quickly formed to replace it. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Psst, psst" A voice said quietly and Regina looked around her. "Over here." Another snowman said and Regina was baffled. "Quickly!" He beckoned and Regina ran inside a shallow cave to hide together with the smaller snowman. "He can't get here, too chubby." The snowman told her and Regina was very confused.

"Excuse me, who would you be?" The brunette asked. "Olaf. And you are…?" The little character moved his hand in a circle waiting for an answer. "Regina." She replied. "Oooooh… Regina!" He said exclaimed cheerfully.

"Do you know me?" She asked with curiosity. "I think so… Are you the mother with the special kid?" He asked her after remembering seeing her in the park. "Special kid? Well, I do have a son and he is very special to me, if that's what you mean." She told him. "Hmm… must have gotten it from the father." The snowman mumbled and Regina was unsure of what the figure was talking about.

The white fluffy dog finally showed up and ran inside the cave to escape the huge angry snowman as well. He became happy again after seeing Regina and went to lick her, but she stopped him with her hands. "Shoo! I never liked pets." She grumbled and summoned a bone to throw it to a corner and distract the dog with it.

"I need to get inside that palace. Which way should I go?" Regina asked Olaf. "No… You can't get near the castle unless Elsa allows it. Fat boy has a temper." He told her as he went to sit down in a rock and took one of his twig arms to poke the dog with curiosity. "And you? Does Elsa allow you access?" She asked him before he actually poked the animal. "Yes! I have privileges." He told her and smiled proudly, putting back his arm. "Could you get me inside?" Regina asked.

The snowman looked at her with suspicion and then looked outside the cave. "Hmm." He considered it and looked at Regina again. He suddenly felt a warm sensation in his snowy body and then realized the source of the pleasant warmth. "Ew! Yellow snow ain't cool, man." Olaf yelled at the dog the same words he had heard earlier in the park from naughty kids that were snowball battling.

"Okay, but you have to tell fluffy to leave me alone." Olaf told Regina after the dog started humping his leg. "Deal." Regina chuckled and waved a hand over the dog. She made it appear inside one of the crates in the pet shelter with papers and even a name so the volunteers would help him and put him in adoption, in case Elsa decided not to keep it.

Olaf then distracted the big angry snowman outside the cave and Regina could reach to the frozen stairs that lead into the palace. She felt nervous as she stepped over ice, but she held onto it with decision and continued climbing until she made it to the gate. She knocked a couple of times and when Elsa came to the door, expecting it would be Olaf, she had a big surprise.

"Regina?" The blonde couldn't believe it and watched her fearsome guardian running after Olaf in the distance. She waved a hand and made both turn back into lifeless snowmen for now and allowed Regina to enter her domain. Regina's eyes couldn't stop going from place to place, in similar fashion Elsa's had done in her own mansion. Everything was new and different, but still keeping some details resembled to their traditional castles.

"It's quite beautiful what you've created." Regina said to Elsa and made her smile. "It seems like I can do good things when I'm in control." She told the brunette and Regina nodded. "The weather is also changing and there haven't been storms anymore." The Mayor pointed out and Elsa felt prouder. She was finally getting hold of her emotions and magic.

"And here I thought I could teach you magic." Regina commented. "Oh! I would still much prefer if you taught me, Regina." Elsa beckoned the brunette to follow her upstairs and showed her an empty room. "This is were I've been practicing." She told her and Regina could notice some ice stalactites and furniture built out of ice, but which wasn't cold. It was more like crystal and the palace didn't feel cold at all, so she had to remove her coat and left it over a glass piano.

"I see and it is quite interesting. I never thought about using ice. Fire is more my thing." Regina told her and created a fireball in her hand. "See?" She told the blonde and Elsa came closer to look at it. "Does it burn?" She asked curiously. "The heat doesn't bother me, but it might bother you." Regina winked an eye and vanished the ball of fire before Elsa touched it. "No, it would burn you badly." She warned and Elsa nodded.

"Let me try." Elsa told her and Regina began speaking while walking around the blonde. "You have to focus your emotion in your hand and don't let your thoughts or fears get in the way of magic." She told her and stopped behind her. An orange ball of light began scintillating in Elsa's hand but it flickered blue and went back and forth between both colors. "Use your anger. Feel it but don't let it posses you." Regina guided but as the ball of energy grew, it went from ice to fire and so on.

Regina stepped even closer and pressed her body against Elsa's, she placed a hand on her waist and another on the arm with which Elsa was focusing her magic. "Ignite that fire and bend it to your heart's desire." Regina whispered behind her ear and it only made Elsa even more nervous with the proximity.

Regina's warm humid breath caressing her skin ignited a different fire inside her but it still had the desired effect, as a big fireball formed in Elsa's hand and stopped changing back and forth. "See, you did it." Regina said behind her and smirked with pride on her new apprentice and Elsa was impressed with herself, but still uneasy with Regina's proximity. It wasn't anger what ignited her fire and the flutter in her stomach made her acknowledge a different type of hunger.

Elsa turned around slowly to face her mentor and tried to stay as close as possible to Regina while doing so. She looked at crimson lips with desire and then up to meet the caramel gaze she couldn't get enough of. _Could Regina have made her choice now? _She wondered and felt hopeful because the brunette came after her, instead of meeting with Emma.

She waited for a long moment without asking with words the questions her own eyes were demanding from the Mayor to answer. Regina was uneasy just the same, as there would be no stepping back now if she moved farther and her own conflict revealed before green eyes and Elsa felt her heart sink a little inside her chest. She took a step back with deception but before she took another, Regina pulled her close and kissed plum lips with gentleness that soon turned into passion.

Their hearts were beating fast inside their chests and neither woman wanted to part from their lips. A white dust of snowflakes engulfed their bodies and transported them into the Queen's private bedchambers, where Elsa landed on her bed upon tripping with the rug beneath it. They both landed on the cushion and Regina smiled as she ended atop of the other woman. Their mouths had involuntarily parted and it was now their eyes what wouldn't leave each other's.

"Are you…" Regina was going to ask if she was sure about taking that step and Elsa quickly answered. "Yes." She told her and cupped Regina's face in her soft hands delicately. She gently pulled her closer and they kissed more slowly this time, indulging in each other's company and not rushing what would come naturally.

Regina parted from the kiss to gracefully remove her blazer and Elsa couldn't stop watching with attention. She bit her lip with lust, waiting for Regina to reveal more skin, and felt her blood simmer inside her veins when the brunette did just what she wanted. Regina slowly unbuttoned her purple silk blouse and let it drop by the foot of the Queen's bed.

Elsa brought her mouth to Regina's neck and gently rolled her lips down the middle of chest, kissing delicate skin and black lace of Regina's elegant bra. Her fingers moved behind Regina's back and went to the clasp holding the garment together, but Regina gently pushed her down in bed again and prevented her from unclasping the clip. "Your turn." She told her in a whisper and Elsa's cheeks turned even redder.

Elsa froze in her place for a moment, nervous to continue, and Regina took the lead again. She gently unbuttoned Elsa's white shirt and opened it to reveal a tan brassiere. Elsa had a significantly bigger chest and Regina smiled with satisfaction. "You are the most beautiful woman in all the realms." The brunette whispered before leaning down to kiss her warm neck.

It had been quite a long time since she had the pleasure of having a female lover and it wasn't something Regina did as often in her past life as Queen in the Enchanted Forest. In fact, she'd only had one maiden who had been a loyal servant and completely devoted and infatuated with her, when she was trapped in Leopold's castle, and found new excitement in the thrill of getting caught by the King with maid Sophia.

Elsa felt that strange flutter again, but this time somewhere below her stomach and precisely in between her legs. She moaned shyly when Regina licked her neck and the brunette felt pride in her latent skill._ I'm still the Mistress of all evil. _She mentally praised herself, as she would be _corrupting_ another maiden. There was certain darkness when it came to taking women for Regina and she'd always enjoyed being in the top position when it came to luring prey into her bed. She hadn't had any woman in all her time in Storybrooke and this slip of passion reminded her how much she'd missed it.

The brunette continued advancing down Elsa's torso and a flick of her hand made the rest of the younger woman's clothes disappear behind a trail of smoke. She felt scared for a moment; when she saw the devilish grin in Regina's face, but it also made her all the more willing to have her take her in any way the dark Mistress desired. "Please, take me." Elsa's raw voice echoed in the moonlit bedroom and Regina licked her own lips with desire. "As you wish." The mature woman responded and continued moving down the last distance needed to reach that sultry place she had missed savoring for the longest.

* * *

_A/N: About a couple of q's in comments. Only Elsa and Olaf will be in Storybrooke, the rest won't. Krystal may or may not have survived the kiss of ice. We don't know. :P_


	8. Chapter 8

_- If you are here for the SQ, I must warn you this chapter will be painful._

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
Chapter 8**

* * *

The first rays of sunlight started filtering through glass into the Queen's bedchambers and Elsa lazily opened her eyes after feeling something rather unusual. The gentle touch of soft fingers brushing hair away from her face was a completely new experience and she became startled for a moment. Her sight was a little blurry and it took her a minute to focus on the person hovering slightly above her.

"Good morning." Regina said softly, her voice a little lower and deeper than the usual. Elsa's cheeks turned a rosy pink hue and nervously replied. "Morning, Regina."

Caramel eyes continued looking with warmth over her delicate features and Elsa blushed even redder when she noticed her blankets had slipped down a little and exposed more of her torso than she intended at that moment and she pulled up the covers to hide her nudity.

"Why do you hide?" Regina smiled warmly. "You're quite beautiful and it shouldn't embarrass you. Besides, it isn't the first time I enjoy the view of your body." The brunette smirked and reminded Elsa about the incident in her bathroom. "It… It was different." Elsa averted her eyes; she looked in direction of her balcony and noticed the sun rising outside.

"What time is it?!" She asked Regina abruptly. "Almost six in the morning." Regina answered after picking her cellphone from the nightstand to check the clock. "Why are you so flustered?" The Mayor asked after noticing the change in Elsa's demeanor. "I will be late!" Elsa responded and got up from bed, not caring any longer about her nudeness and Regina grinned as she indulged in the full image.

Elsa tried using her magic to change into her waitress uniform and make her appearance freshened, but given the amount of worry and nervousness she was feeling, all she could manage to summon was the skirt and a half apron. "I must say I quite like your new uniform. But. I don't think Granny would approve of it." Regina teased her and summoned a mirror where Elsa could look at herself.

"Oh my!" The blonde exclaimed. "Please help me!" Elsa turned shyly to face Regina, who had by now summoned back her own clothing from the previous night and was standing close to the sensual hourglass bodied lady. "Of course." Regina chuckled and waved her hand and, as quick as purple smoke came and went, it revealed a neatly dressed waitress.

"Thank you!" Elsa wrapped her arms around Regina and squeezed her in an embrace, what caught the Mayor off guard and made her frown a little at the childish behavior she had not seen before from Elsa. "Never mind it." Regina uttered and Elsa withdrew. "Uh, sorry." The blonde brought her hands to her skirt and smoothed the fabric nervously.

Regina cleared her throat and looked at Elsa with warmer eyes now. "Can you make it in one piece to the diner, or should I help you?" She asked her tentatively and Elsa wondered for a moment. She was no longer a nervous mess but spending a little more time with Regina would be wonderful. "I'm not sure." Elsa innocently fluttered her eyelashes and Regina offered her arm gently. "Allow me." The brunette said gallantly and Elsa felt victorious. She clung to Regina's arm and purple smoke engulfed their bodies. _Maybe I should pretend being a damsel in distress more often._ The platinum blonde thought.

They appeared in front of the diner and Ruby was surprised when she saw purple smoke reveal not only Regina but also Elsa at the foot of the stairs. The werewolf had arrived just a couple of minutes earlier to open in time and she had to look through the blinds one more time to make sure it had been the Mayor who brought the new waitress to work. _What could they be doing together so early in the morning?_ She wondered and then a naughty idea struck her. "Ooh la la!" She uttered. _Did I just sniff Regina's scent all over Elsa? _She was amused.

Regina noticed Ruby's presence close to the windows and when Elsa tried to get closer to kiss her, the Mayor gently stepped back. A light movement that didn't go unnoticed and Regina just said she would come later to have breakfast. Elsa felt a tug in her chest but understood Regina might not be ready yet to display affection in public, so she bit her lip and just waved a hand behind her. "Have a good day." The younger woman said and Regina smiled at her. "I will see you later."

After entering the diner, Elsa looked up at Ruby and averted her eyes from the brunette's, for she was looking at her with smugness and had a wide grin in her mouth in playful mocking. "Elsa…" Ruby wrapped an arm around her to get closer and make sure her nose wasn't lying. "How does one _afford_ a _magical ride _from _the Mayor_ to work? You have to share the secret, gurl!" Ruby winked and Elsa felt her face turn red.

"I don't know what you mean, Ruby." Elsa replied and tried to focus her sight on the coffee maker. "I should get the coffee started." She moved past the brunette and quickly retrieved the carafe and went into the kitchen. "Bummer." Ruby muttered. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get anything out of the newbie, which reminded her she still had a talk pending with her friend Emma.

Regina went to the Mansion soon after delivering Elsa by Granny's door. She appeared in her bedroom and went to turn on the water to fill her tub in the bathroom. She would be enjoying a soothing hot bath while replaying the vivid images of last night.

"I needed that." She mumbled and dipped entirely in the tub. She relaxed in her bath for a good while and eventually lost track of time. She was starting to doze off when she remembered it wasn't weekend yet and she had to get to the station.

Regina was patting her hair dry when realization struck her. Elsa had shared her body for the first time with anyone and would most likely expect from that person to become her life partner. The young queen was still new to how things worked in this world and her old customs would have her waiting for Regina to formalize their union. _What did I get myself into?_ She sighed deeply and continued dressing up for the day.

Regina swallowed on her saliva and felt nervous because, while she _really _liked the Queen of Arendelle, she still had mixed feelings about Emma and had been a little selfish the previous night when she was offered such a splendid invitation into the younger woman's bedroom. _But how could she reject her, when she looked so hopeful, not to mention how strikingly beautiful? _Regina tried to find an ostensible reason but she had more or less taken advantage of Elsa's devotion to breathe new air.

* * *

At Granny's, Grumpy was the first client to arrive and Elsa went to take his order. "Scrambled eggs with extra bacon, sunshine." The dwarf told her and winked. "Right away, sir." Elsa curtsied lightly and went into the kitchen to tell the cooker, but Granny took the order instead and made it herself, as she knew better than anyone how that grumpy dwarf liked his breakfast.

A couple of hours had passed and few customers had come and gone. The morning wasn't all that hectic and Elsa was feeling slightly bored but continued finding things to clean in order to avoid a certain person, as Ruby had already tried a handful of times to pick up on the subject of her relationship with Regina. She kept asking if it went all the way back before the first curse, or maybe even before Regina became the Evil Queen, but Elsa just gave her vague answers and finally said she knew Regina from her marriage with King Leopold.

Elsa came up with a story of meeting the Queen in Leopold's castle. "I was daughter of one of the maids assigned for her. She was kind to me." The waitress told her first lie and actually got away with it. Ruby believed her story and thought it would do for now. It explained why she was so good at serving their customers and why Regina seemed to be _really_ fond of her. It had been strange for everyone to see Regina acting so friendly with the new denizen, or anyone, and now the werewolf had a logic answer to spread in town like butter on bread.

In the streets, Emma had been on patrol since early in the morning, even though she hadn't had that much sleep after getting stood up by the Mayor. In an attempt to distract herself from the hurtful rejection, she focused her energy on moving the remaining of her belongings to the new apartment with Henry's help, but there they received an inevitable visitor. Hook showed up by her door carrying a bag with burgers for the three of them and Emma felt obligated to let him come in and share supper together.

She had been avoiding him for almost an entire week and it would soon be time to face him with the truth, but that would have to wait for an occasion where Henry wasn't involved. After the teenager retreated to his own little room feeling exhausted, Emma quickly made it known it was time for sleep and nearly pushed the pirate out of her door.

By now, he was sure she was hiding something and he knew better than to confront her but with Henry in the other room, he knew it would be a peaceful confrontation and decided to ask just the simplest of questions that would give him the right answer.

"Was that kiss _also_ a _one time _thing?" He turned around and slipped his foot to stop the door from closing, recalling what Emma had told him the first time they locked lips in Neverland. "What?" Emma blinked in surprise.

"Outside Granny's. After our return." He reminded her, brow furrowing in lack of patience. "I'm tired, Hook. We'll talk about it later." She avoided. "It's just a yes or no, Swan. I won't insist. Not anymore." He told her with an unfamiliar glint in his eyes she hadn't seen before.

"Yeah. Sorry." Emma averted her eyes and looked to the floor. "Well then, Swan." He responded and finally left, never to return again.

Emma was remembering the small confrontation when she suddenly caught sight of a peculiar black Mercedes at a side of the road, close to the forest. She parked her unit behind the car and went to see if Regina was inside but she didn't see the Mayor and wondered what could she possibly be doing so early in the morning in a place as isolated as this.

The Deputy felt a strange twist in her stomach and grew worried for Regina's well being. She looked around the area for half an hour but after not receiving an answer from Regina's cellphone, or seeing any signs of the Mayor, she decided to try with Regina's home line.

Regina had just finished dressing and looked as polished and elegant as she always did, when her phone began ringing by the nightstand. She gently picked up the vintage looking thing and greeted whoever was disrupting her own trance. "Mills residence, Regina speaking."

"Regina! Thank God you're there. Are you alright?" Emma asked with worry and Regina was pretty confused with the question. "Why wouldn't I be, Ms. Swan? Is there… anything in particular you need to discuss that can't wait until I make it to the station?" The Mayor asked dryly but with some curiosity. _Why would Emma be so worried about her?_ It was a strange sensation.

"Yeah, that's why I call. How do you plan getting to the station? I found your car on the side of a road near the forest." Emma heavily exhaled. "Anything I need to know?" The deputy inquired while kicking a small rock with her boot.

"Oh." Regina answered with surprise and guilt but didn't continue. "_Oh_- What does that mean?" Emma's brow furrowed. "I'll be there in a moment, Miss Swan. Thank you for letting me know." Regina replied and quickly hang up and Emma's frown went even further.

"_Oh?_" The blonde huffed as she leant against the black Mercedes and then noticed purple smoke that could only mean Regina's arrival. _Of course magic could always transport her. _She rolled her eyes. "So?" Emma locked eyes on Regina.

"I already thanked you, don't make me repeat it." Regina glared as she opened the driver's door to get in and avoid the interrogation, but Emma only got more irritated by her avoidance and pushed the door closed again and approached the other woman.

"Why did you chicken out last minute?" The blonde confronted her about the date that didn't happen. "I did not _chicken_ _out_, Miss Swan." Regina chuckled with sarcasm and held the other woman's stern stare. "I got caught up with… work and I… certainly do _not_ have to excuse myself with you." Regina changed the course of her lines again. She didn't want to walk into dangerous territory. "Right." Emma stepped impossibly closer and looked into Regina's eyes intently, searching for something she must be missing.

Regina felt uneasy with the closeness and holding Emma's stare was becoming a real challenge. "Your superpower will get you nothing." Regina muttered and Emma's strong stare quickly turned softer. It wasn't a deceiving look the one in green eyes any longer… it was completely different.

_What do you want from me? _Regina wondered and averted her eyes. She knew exactly what Emma wanted and a part of her still felt that pull toward the former Sheriff. "You're wasting my time. I should be in my office by now." The brunette grumbled and nervously took a step away to try reaching for her car's door handle.

"Chicken." Emma blurted semi-playfully. "Pardon?" Regina tilted her head and narrowed her gaze. "What you heard." Emma folded her arms over her chest and sneered. "How mature of you." Regina muttered and opened her door. "There you go, running away again." The deputy's voice whispered in just the right volume for the Mayor to hear it.

"I'm not a _chicken_ and I certainly am_ not_ running away from anything." Regina twitched her lip. "Unlike yourself, I _do_ have work to do, Miss Swan." Regina snapped and finished entering her car. She started the engine and steered away as fast as she possibly could.

"That's over the speed limits." Emma mumbled to herself as she got in her unit. "That calls for a ticket." She said as she gained speed in her own automobile to come closer to the black Mercedes. She started the sirens and ordered through the speaker for the Mayor to steer to the side of the road again.

Regina pulled over and turned down her window to meet Emma's hideous sight once again with anger. "What now?" The brunette muttered. "Madam Mayor, you went over the speed limit. I'm afraid I will have to give you a ticket and I have to test you for alcohol levels." The blonde grinned proudly and Regina felt like punching her toothless as she stepped out of the car to face her.

"If this is your idea of a joke, you're a terrible comedian." Regina muttered. "I just want to know the truth, Regina. Why didn't you really come? I feel this… whatever is between us is not stopping. It never could. Why do we continue fighting? You know now how I feel and I thought I knew the way you felt about me." Emma sighed deeply.

"Unlike you, I can't just let go, Emma." Regina took a deep breath. "It has been too much and I can't just forget and pretend nothing ever happened."

"I didn't know then." Emma replied somberly. "But I'm doing things right this time to earn you back. Of course, that's only if there _truly_ is still a chance for us. Tell me, is there?" Emma asked openly. She wasn't one to hit around bushes and she wasn't sure she would be able to endure moving a step forward, just to be pushed three back when Regina got vulnerable around her.

Regina looked into clouded green eyes and felt her own glaze like Emma's. This was it, no more evading. "You know, if only you had ever recognized my work in the upbringing of Henry; the only thing I ever got right. The wonderful year full of MY memories with him as a little child, I would have overlooked your other slips. Robin, Hook, you wanting to take Henry back…" Regina stopped as her voice broke and Emma realized how much she had wronged her. "Did it ever occur to ask if I would join you in New York? You never even considered my say in the matter at all."

"I wouldn't give myself a chance either." Emma mumbled. "I… I was so absorbed in my self-pity that I never took the time to look at what I was doing to you." Emma's tears trickled down. "I will never deserve you and yet I was so hopeful." The woman stopped to breathe because she was almost chocking on every word.

"Emma…" Regina uttered and almost reached out to touch her but retrieved her hand before coming to contact. It would be too painful, their baggage was just too heavy to set aside and pretend all their mishaps had never happened. Regina had indirectly ruined Emma's childhood and Emma had almost ruined Regina's relationship with their son, but what she did break beyond repair was their own possibility at happiness together. "Sometimes a simple thank you is what keeps you from a happy ending." Regina said bitterly. "But it is too late now." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Emma's bottom lip quivered as she tried to suppress a sob and felt her heart break into a million pieces at the sound of the last sentence. There was no longer hope for her with Regina. She had to stop trying and face her loss. "Regina…" Emma said softly as she looked deep into brown orbs. "Yes?" Regina asked with confusion, her own heart already shredded.

Emma stepped closer and closed the distance between them, gently bringing her hands to cup the brunette's face with sad tenderness as tears continued pouring from emerald eyes. Regina felt alarmed for a moment but she didn't really want to stop her from coming much closer. Whatever Emma had in mind, she wouldn't push her away like she had promised. Dark eyes looked with both doubt and expectation at the blonde's movements and the Mayor waited patiently for Emma to finish what she'd started. It was time to close a chapter and allow a new one to start writing.

"I…" Emma said in a whisper as she began leaning forward slowly, observing Regina's response to know if she had to stop or could continue. She brought her face much closer and her eyes looked at red tinted lips with painful yearning. "You…?" Regina asked curiously and her own sight inspected rosy lips with longing. "Need this to… carry on." Emma answered and her lips brushed ever so lightly over Regina's, still cautious in case the brunette decided to retreat. But Regina didn't pull away, instead; her own lips parted lightly to lock with Emma's in a subtle kiss filled with emotion.

As tears continued falling like dead leaves in autumn, their lips continued dancing in sad rhythm with their hearts breaking. Regina's hands wrapped gently in Emma's neck as they kissed and they slowly pulled away when pain was just too much to bear. They rested their foreheads together for a minute and it was incredibly difficult to break contact with one another. When they allowed distance to set between them, they said their final words as impossible lovers.

"I will never be able to love again. Not the way I love you." Emma said with sorrow. "Emma, don't say that. We can all love again." Regina told her in similar way Daniel had told her the last time she saw him, and it felt odd for her to be the one comforting Emma this moment. "Sorry. I just… I can't hold myself together right now." Emma told her and wrapped her arms around her torso to control her own quivering. She looked up into the sky and a few droplets of water landed on her face; it seemed as if even the sky was crying together with her.

It wasn't any easier for Regina, but she had more practice with covering her feelings and keeping her composure, so she slipped back inside the car and spared a last glance through her mirror to see Emma weeping in the background. And it downed on her, it was their last kiss. Their love had been a rose plucked too soon, never allowed to bloom. _Good-bye, Emma._ Regina said for herself as she drove off in the rain and locked herself in the office hoping she could drown in papers.

* * *

_A/N: I'm considering some comments and thinking about splitting the story in two to make an SQ version from before Regina went after Elsa. As you can see now, this turned to be a Frozen Queen fic. I must say it was quite hard because I ship SQ so hard, but the series have made Emma look like an ass with Regina and she does no longer deserve her, IMO. Oh! And this fic isn't over yet! It kind of sounded like it was, lol. _

*UPDATE* I started the SQ version. You can find it in my stories. Changes at the middle of the seventh chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you for the support to this story and I'm sorry for those who were rooting for Swan Queen. As some of you said, there aren't many FQ fanfics. But also there will never be enough SQ, so I published a modified version of this ficlet and changes begin where Elsa is looking for Olaf in the 7th chapter. From then on, my stories take different paths. Not sure if I will keep up with the SQ version, though. It will depend on the response._

* * *

**FROZEN DREAMS  
Chapter 9**

* * *

It hadn't been long since Regina got into her office and it already suffocated her being there. She couldn't focus on her work after the depressing reunion with Emma and the usually self-controlled woman couldn't stop her tears from falling. They just didn't seem to listen to her orders and her mind wouldn't stop replaying the final kiss that closed her circle of torment with the Savior.

"You are so stupid." Regina mumbled thinking about her. "I gave you all the signs." She exhaled and grabbed her coffee mug but when she looked inside, she noticed it had run out of the dark liquid and immediately remembered she had promised to have breakfast at Granny's to see Elsa.

A small smile appeared in her lips for the first time in an hour of silent weeping and she got up from her desk to walk to the mirror and have a look at herself. She put new make-up on and smoothed out the fabric of her black suit, and finally wrapped a purple trench coat around her frame before going outside, as it was still raining lightly.

The last thing she wanted was to worry Elsa with her defeated appearance, or make her more upset after having avoided her attempt to kiss her in the diner earlier. "No." Regina uttered. She definitely wouldn't do to Elsa what Emma had done to her. She wouldn't ignore again her displays of affection, even if it meant finally coming out in public and facing the reaction of her denizens.

She looked for her purse and pulled out the keys of her Mercedes, then looked for her iPhone to check at the hour but she couldn't find it. "Maybe I left it home." She mumbled and paid it no mind. It would still be there when she came back.

Regina made a first stop by Moe French's flower shop to buy the perfect blossom that would apologize her to the Queen of Arendelle. A special winter iris caught her eye for its color; a rich indigo, neither blue nor purple. It represented the both of them. _Perfect._

"Would you like the bouquet, or just a single flower, Madam Mayor?" Belle's father asked her politely. _Good question._ Regina considered both options. If she picked the bouquet, the statement would be quite obvious and in Granny's diner, the gossip would spread like the plague and she didn't want things to happen too fast or run out of hand.

"I'll take a single one." Regina told him and then asked him to wrap a white ribbon around the stem and finish it with a small elegant bow under the petals. She paid for the flower and made it to the car to finally arrive in Granny's and offer her apologetic flower for having hurt Elsa's feelings unintentionally.

When Regina entered the diner, Elsa's eyes immediately lit up. She was starting to believe she wouldn't see her for the rest of the day and she was very glad to be proven wrong. The Mayor smiled gently at the waitress as she came closer and before Elsa could offer a seat to her, Regina pulled from behind her the arrangement and offered it to the younger woman.

"Is that for… me?" Elsa asked doubtfully. "Of course, dear. There's no one else I could be interested in." Regina answered formally and the waitress picked her flower from the Mayor's hand blushing lightly but feeling really happy for the gesture. She sniffed at the flower's perfume and smiled openly at the pleasant aroma. "Thank you."

There weren't many clients and Regina felt a little bit relieved because no one had actually paid attention to them, as they were indulging in their meals. The only person looking awe-struck at the couple was Ruby and Regina had to comment on it. "I can see your cavities from here, Miss Lucas." Regina said non-gallantly and the werewolf closed her mouth quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." The wolf-girl replied and turned around to mind her own business.

"Miss Lucas." Regina called before the girl disappeared behind the kitchen door. "Yes?" Ruby turned around again. "I heard Elsa worked extra hours yesterday. Would it be so much of a problem if she finished her shift earlier today?" Regina strutted to the bar and Ruby got nervous for a moment and hesitated to answer. They had paid Elsa for the extra hours, so there really was no obligation to comply, but this was the Mayor asking and you wouldn't want to upset Regina Mills.

"Regina, my shift is over in a couple of hours. I will find you in the office after I'm done." Elsa stepped in and squeezed Regina's arm gently. Regina looked at Elsa, then eyed Ruby and glanced around the nearly empty establishment. "It doesn't look like it's peak hour. I'm sure_ Granny_ wouldn't mind letting Elsa out a little early." Regina said dangerously calmly and Ruby gulped.

"Just take the girl and don't make her be late tomorrow." Granny showed up in the window to the kitchen. "I may be old but I've still got a good ear, Ma'am." The grey-haired lady said to Regina non-politely. "Thank you." Regina replied dryly and opened the door for Elsa to leave together.

"You don't wanna mess with the lesbos, and certainly not with the top." Granny said to Ruby and her granddaughter was shocked for a moment. _Did I just hear that?_ The brunette wondered. "What?" Granny blurted after reading her expression. "Nothing." Ruby replied and went to clean a table that had just cleared.

* * *

Emma had gone back to where she'd found Regina's car to have another look. Something still was off and she needed to occupy herself with something, anything at all, that could distract her from the sorrow of her heartbreak. After finally managing to stop crying, and the rain became much lighter, she resumed the search around the area and noticed some indentations in the ground now filled with water, near to where the tires of Regina's car had been parked.

They looked like prints of what seemed like paws and heels. She tracked the footprints for some meters and then noticed the shoe marks disappear but the dog's paws continued to hike up the mountain. Emma was still in pretty good shape and so she decided to venture in the path this mysterious animal had drawn with his feet.

* * *

"Let me treat you to a real restaurant." Regina said to Elsa once inside her vehicle. She drove past the town line, as it was no longer dangerous to leave the land, and told her they would visit a nearby city for that purpose.

She shared she had once had an unforgettable meal in a restaurant she visited when she was driving her way back from Boston after the adoption of Henry. "The first time I ventured out of Storybrooke in search of a glimpse of happiness." Regina smiled warmly and Elsa felt even more empathy for her.

Elsa was very excited to see more of what this world offered and the idea of traveling with Regina was completely amazing. She kept smiling through the short journey and Regina couldn't help but feel infected by her cheerful spirit and smiled all the way to Waterville, Maine.

It was roughly a two-hour drive when they arrived and Regina could hardly remember the place. It was somewhat different from her last visit, but that was to be understood since it had been a good thirteen years and she had only stopped by to fill both her car's tank, as well as her empty stomach. "I wonder if it even is still open." Regina mumbled as she drove down Silver Street.

"It still exists." Regina was surprised and Elsa read the signs of the businesses to the side. "Cancun Mexican Restaurant or The Last Unicorn?" She asked but the answer was obvious. "The Last Unicorn. I chose to come here when I asked in the gas station about a decent restaurant and that particular name caught me. The irony was too grand to let pass." Regina smiled lightly and parked. "They had a wonderful green salad dressing; I believe it was called goddess. I think you will like it."

They entered the restaurant and chose to eat inside, instead of the deck, and the waiter quickly emerged to guide them to their table. Regina chose from the menu for them because Elsa really had no idea what some of the things were and she trusted in Regina's taste to make the best decisions for their lunch.

"Well, it wasn't breakfast but I hope you're not disappointed." Regina asked the younger lady and Elsa smiled warmly. "This is perfect and I absolutely adored the cheese dip." Elsa admitted. "What about the salad?" Regina asked curiously. "It was delicious, too, but I kind of enjoy the things one shouldn't usually indulge in." The blonde admitted with shy guilt. "I won't tell your secret if you keep mine…" Regina leaned closer. "I also prefer the cheese dip over the salad." Regina chuckled. It was easier for some reason to act more loosely when she wasn't in her own town. It felt like breathing fresh air for the first time in a decade.

* * *

It took Emma a couple of hours to finally come to a clear and from there she could distinguish a strange crystal building near the peak of the mountain, where snow was already melting with the returning warmth of the ever-changing weather. "Is this… what I think it is?" She mumbled and moved faster in direction of that place.

The deputy noticed a huge snowman and a smaller one slowly melting by the foot of the palace and gathered the needed courage to get on translucent steps of what looked like a staircase made out of ice. She heard a small crackling sound and looked down but the staircase was strong and it could hold her weight. She carefully made it to the other side and finally pushed the gate open to enter the incredible citadel.

She looked all around her in awe and was impressed by the beauty of Elsa's creation. It was almost like the castle in the animated movie, but with less snowflakes and more warmth. In fact, it wasn't cold at all and Emma started sweating inside her thick brown jacket.

She walked up the long spiral stairs and finally came to a room that seemed like what would be the royal bedchambers. There was a tall chimney made of white marble with light grey veins, faced by an elegant silver silk divan and loveseat, and a big white and blue canopy bed with gold accents lay near the balcony. "Someone forgot to do her fancy bed." Emma mumbled as she approached and looked around in search of something she didn't know she was looking for.

A familiar sound called her attention and she retrieved her iPhone to check if she had a missed call. She had received a text from the Mayor an hour earlier but she didn't notice because she was too concentrated in her mountain hike. "Could you please pick up Henry? I can't make it in time today. Thank you." The message was to the point but it still made Emma's pulse accelerate upon reading the sender's name. _So this is how divorce feels like._ She sighed.

A strange noise started sounding once more and Emma looked at her phone again, but it wasn't the source this time. She looked around and finally found the origin of the commotion; another iPhone vibrating on a nightstand. She went to look at the caller in the screen and it showed it was Henry. _Regina's cellphone._ Emma realized. "Caught up with work, huh." She half-heartedly smiled and left the gadget where she found it.

Emma called Henry to ask how he was doing and he asked his birthmother why hadn't anyone picked him yet from school. It was half an hour late and Emma hadn't realized she'd spent all day in the woods. "I will call David and ask him to pick you up and I will get you at Mary Margaret's." She told him and explained she was too far to pick him herself and Regina was busy at work.

"Work…" Emma grumbled. There was a big tall mirror oddly standing in the center of the room and Emma went to give it a look. She closed her eyes and focused her mind and then opened them again to meet the image of _betrayal:_ Regina smiling with Elsa in some restaurant she had never seen in Storybrooke. _Where is that?_ She wondered and focused on a small logo sticking up from where the napkins were being held. "The Last Unicorn." She googled from her phone. "Waterville? What the hell!"

She had been sad before but now she was impossibly pissed off. She knew she had no right over Regina but she still felt _cheated on_. She had to take a deep breath to calm down and she finally understood how Regina must have felt about her and Hook. And Emma had been hanging out with the pirate for quite some time, though not as a couple, but it really seemed like that ever since Neverland. "Argh!" She growled and left the place._ Enough torture for a day._

* * *

Regina and Elsa left the restaurant and the brunette decided to visit a park and have a small walk to relax and stretch her legs before having to drive back home again. The weather there was warmer than the strange one they had been having in Storybrooke lately and they had an ice cream by the shadow of a tree.

Elsa leant onto Regina's side and smiled contently; it was her first date ever and she had never been given the opportunity to enjoy a sunny day like this in her tormenting life in Arendelle. This was by far the happiest day in her life and she started wondering if she was dreaming. "It's not a dream, Elsa, this is very real." Regina told her and intertwined her fingers with hers. "But I do admit it is hard to believe, even I am having difficulty." The Mayor smiled and Elsa did too.

They locked gazes for a moment and their bodies felt a magnetic pull toward each other. Regina slowly got closer and Elsa followed just like her and they didn't break eye contact until the touch of soft lips made them close their eyes to share an innocent kiss like teenage lovers. It was somewhat funny for Regina, feeling so youthful again, and with every kiss her troubles seemed to slip away. If she had been upset in the morning, she couldn't remember this moment. _This is how a good relationship must feel like. _The brunette thought.

"So…" Elsa mumbled after breaking their kiss and Regina looked at her with curiosity. "Does this mean we… you… me…" The blonde couldn't bring herself to complete the question. "Oh, right." Regina realized what Elsa intended to ask. The Mayor cleared her throat and decided to ask a question she never imagined herself asking.

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?" Regina took both of Elsa's hands and smiled gently. It felt somewhat funny to be asking that question, as she had never thought she would find herself in that position, but it wasn't unpleasant either. It was just something new, something she had longed for in silence. Perhaps her happy ending wasn't impossible in the end.

Elsa smiled widely and nodded, though, being completely honest, she was hoping to hear wedding bells and see a ring on her finger but that could wait. "What do you think?" She answered and tugged on Regina's blazer to pull her into a less innocent kiss. It surprised Regina but she liked the passionate response she got and returned the kiss with just as much spice. A hand went to Elsa's thigh, whilst another one went to her hair and the Mayor soon found herself atop of the waitress making out in the grass.

_Strange, how relationships develop in the new world._ Elsa thought because she had slept with Regina before even making their relationship official and right now she wasn't ashamed of being making out in a public place with the sexy brunette. _I regret nothing. _She chuckled and Regina was confused for a moment and wondered what was going on inside that head.

After their heated kiss ended, Regina took a deep breath and looked at the sky loosing light slowly. "It's time to go. I would like for Henry to spend the night home and we must arrive in Storybrooke before the sun sets." Regina got up and offered a hand to help Elsa. "Yes, of course." The younger woman smiled and walked hand in hand in direction of Regina's car.

Once back in their hometown, Regina looked for her cellphone everywhere in her mansion but she couldn't find it. She had tried calling herself from her landline but there was no ringtone to be heard and Elsa came to join her in the living room after some minutes. "It wasn't in the studio either." The blonde told her and Regina exhaled.

"Thank you, dear. It doesn't matter. I just called the station and asked _Idiot#1_ to let Emma Swan know I wish for Henry to spend the weekend home." She said as she poured two glasses of wine and sat in the elegant couch. She patted the spot beside her and beckoned for Elsa to join. "Idiot number 1?" Elsa asked with curiosity as she sat down. "Yes. David, the shepherd and sheriff." Regina chuckled and took a sip from her glass.

"If you hadn't called him an idiot, I could almost swear you sounded fond of him." Elsa pointed out and smiled. "Please… He is too _Charming_ for my taste." Regina twitched her lip and Elsa found her reaction amusing. "If charming isn't your thing, could you tell me what is? Because I would love to know what you see in me." Elsa intended to ask lightly but the way it came out, it revealed more than what she expected and Regina gulped on her wine.

She cleared her throat and then tried to be playful for a change, since it was a straight up question and she wasn't sure yet if she actually had a proper answer. "Apart from the amazing way that you kiss when you let go?" Regina teased and put her glass over the coffee table but noticed Elsa wasn't really amused any longer and it reminded her of her own moment with Robin and his similar, though less graceful, answer.

Regina took a deep breath and then the right answer revealed itself. "What I see in you is a breeze of change. The fresh air I didn't know I was missing, until I realized I could breathe again."

Elsa's eyes welled up with emotion and she placed a hand on Regina's thigh gently as she leaned to her side. Regina followed after her motion and also leaned to meet plum lips with cherry in a loving kiss. She felt a strange chill as they kissed, loyalty downing on her, and she slowly opened her eyes to look at the partner she was freely committing to for the first time after Daniel. There was no pixie-dust and certainly no Cora. This was her choice.

The doorbell rang and they had to part from their intimate kiss. "That must be Henry." Regina said and went to open the door, lipstick slightly smeared. But it wasn't Henry whom she greeted with a smile at her door, a smile that quickly faded away when brown orbs looked into green. "Miss Swan… Where's my son?" She asked with confusion and cleaned her lips after noticing Emma's inspection on them and her scowl.

"He is home." Emma said harshly. "What are you talking about?" Regina narrowed her gaze. "I thought we were over that." The brunette said sharply. "Right…" Emma grumbled. "About _that_… Next time you bring flowers to your _girlfriend_ to work, at least make sure Henry already knows his mother is dating at all, so he doesn't have to learn from the town's gossip about her relationship with the new waitress." Emma said with anger and Regina felt guilty for a brief moment. "As if it had been any different from you and the pirate." The brunette muttered.

"Is everything alright there, Regina?" Elsa appeared from behind her and then met the _unwelcomed guest_ with a glare, and Emma returned the greeting with the same lack of fondness. _Of course she would be here_. Emma grimaced_. _"Hi." She tried to feign a smile poorly.

"Everything is fine. Right, Ms. Swan?" Regina glowered and Emma rolled her eyes. "Sure." The Deputy replied and looked at Elsa and then back at Regina. "Could you please give us a moment,_ honey_?" Regina requested from Elsa, emphasizing on the endearment. "Sure, my love." Elsa smiled and went forward to plant a kiss on Regina's lips, marking her territory. Emma just rolled her eyes even further until the younger woman disappeared in the living room and Regina stepped out of the house and closed the door.

"You won't keep Henry away from me." Regina said firmly. "_Me?_ You're doing that perfectly on your own, Madam Mayor." Emma's brow furrowed and Regina was loosing her patience. "Excuse me?" Regina questioned.

"It's _you_ whom is neglecting _our_ son just to fool around with the new doll in town." Emma spit out and Regina was both angry and conflicted. _Was that jealousy?_ She shook her head. "I will pretend you didn't just say that, Miss Swan." Regina said after taking a deep breath and Emma rolled her eyes in response.

"Stop doing that." Regina ordered. "What?" Emma threw her hands in the air with exasperation. "And also that!" Regina pointed with her hand at Emma's whole demeanor. "Your eye-rolling is incredibly annoying and you have a perpetual frown that is turning into a wrinkle." Regina pointed to her forehead. "Seriously?" Emma was bewildered but, somehow, her anger dropped a little. "Am I ever not serious?" Regina asked in return. "Right." Emma replied and a faint smile appeared in her lips involuntarily.

"Bring Henry for breakfast tomorrow and I will overlook your insubordination." Regina said calmly and Emma sighed deeply. _Why must I love her? _The blonde questioned internally. "Deputy, you are dismissed." Regina finished and watched as Emma left her porch with difficulty and when the hideous yellow bug disappeared from her sight, she allowed herself to smile lightly.

"So?" Elsa asked Regina after she came back. "We have the night for our own." Regina smiled and kissed her on her cheek. Elsa looked at her dubiously and felt something move inside her. No matter how much Regina tried to pretend, she knew the brunette still cared for Emma. _Time heals all wounds. _She told herself.

She still remembered Krystal and there had been times she wished she could reach her, but there was no chance she could be alive, or in this world, and her feelings for Regina continued to grow with every minute they spent together. She had only known Krystal for a day or two and she convinced herself it had been just a crush._ Definitely not True Love._

The Queen of Arendelle had been forced to leave the past behind and move on, just like Regina was trying to do now and she would support her and work hard for their happy ending together. "I love you." Elsa whispered in her ear and before Regina returned an answer, she told her she would like to sleep in her own bedchambers. The weather had warmed up and she was worried for the state of her palace and her friend Olaf.

Regina nodded in understanding and kissed Elsa's lips one more time before the lady vanished in a white mist of magic. The brunette was both disappointed and grateful, as she couldn't yet bring herself to tell her she loved her, but she did feel something blooming inside her. _Hope for love. _That much she was certain and missed the young woman the moment she left her.

* * *

A new day greeted Regina's window and the brunette went to fully open her curtains to allow more light into her bedroom. Her clock by the side showed it was seven and she proceeded to take a shower. By now, Elsa would most likely be working at Granny's and she decided she would first talk with Henry before formally introducing the Queen of Arendelle as her choice of partner.

Regina had jut finished cooking when the doorbell rang and she patted her hands dry to go greet the newcomers. "Henry!" She opened her arms and he went to hug her gently. She kissed his forehead and he smiled warmly. "Come in, honey." She signaled and let him through the door.

"Hi." Emma greeted. "Miss Swan… Thank you for bringing him in time." Regina nodded and Emma smiled faintly. "No problem." The blonde responded and averted her eyes from the Mayor's. "I should be going." She said uneasy. "Of course. Have a good day, deputy." Regina dismissed her in her neutral un-attached politician tone and Emma turned around and made it to her car to leave without another word.

They had their meal like they used to do years ago when it was just the two of them, but that wasn't exactly a good thing. Henry had mostly remained silent through the course of their breakfast and Regina couldn't bring him to speak much about his week in school. He seemed troubled about something and Regina feared that what Emma had said last night was true. Gossip in town spread like the flu and Henry had indeed heard about his mother and Elsa.

After Regina finished the dishes with her son's help, she asked him to join her in the living room. They went to sit down in the sofa and his mother felt her hands begin to sweat with anxiety. "It's okay, mom. I already heard the rumors." Henry decided to speak first to break the ice.

"I resent that you had to learn that way, Henry. It happened so fast that I didn't have enough time to react." She told him and offered an apologetic smile. "So it's true?" Henry asked and looked at her with some doubt. "It is. Elsa and I… well, we get along and want to try. That's, of course, if you don't oppose. Your opinion is too important to me, Henry. If this bothers you at all, I will end it." Regina cupped his hands in hers and looked into his eyes earnestly.

"Mom… This is weird." Henry squeezed her hands and Regina felt slightly scared of his following answer. _What if he doesn't want Elsa in their lives? _She promised she would do what was best for him. "What is?" Regina requested with nervousness. "Well, no one usually cares about my opinion." He mumbled as his gaze went to the rug under their feet.

"Don't say that. You know I care. Please feel free to talk to me." Regina gently lifted up his chin to meet his eyes again. "I didn't know Emma was with Hook until I saw them making out outside Granny's, and it wasn't much different when I walked in on you and Robin." Henry grumbled and Regina frowned. "I can't excuse _Emma_ but I can speak in my favor, Henry. You didn't have your memories then. I would have told you before starting to see him." Regina clarified. "I know." Henry felt a little guilty because she was right and he had thought of Regina as just the Mayor back then.

"Tell me, do you want me to stop with Elsa?" Regina asked him and waited for his answer. He looked at her with curiosity and then asked her. "Would you be sad if I said yes?" He kept his intent stare to read his mother's facial expression. Regina's corners of her mouth went slightly downwards and her eyes lost some of their vibrancy. She indeed looked sad in Henry's eyes and that assured him of his answer.

"No. If that's what you want, it will be what I want to." Regina assured him as best as she could, not to trouble him. "No. I want you to be happy, mom. Whether it is with Elsa, Robin or even Emma." He replied and Regina was baffled.

"What?" She shook her head incredulously. "Yeah… Before I got my memories back, I noticed your strange… interaction with ma. But I guess that's over now." He told her and smiled lightly. "Mom, just go for who YOU want. I won't mind." He squeezed her shoulder and Regina felt her eyes well up with tears. "Thank you, Henry." Her son had matured quite a lot and was so supportive of her; it almost felt like a dream.

Mother and son spent the whole Saturday together around town. They visited the library and went to a secret section she kept behind a secured door and retrieved a spells book that was for beginners; it mainly housed white magic spells she knew she could share with Henry. He was coming of age and had already expressed his interest in developing his own magic.

"Are you serious?" Henry couldn't believe it. "Yes, dear. It's yours and I will guide you through every step." She smiled and waved a hand to make the door to that section disappear behind cloaking spell. "Awesome!" He exclaimed cheerfully and they went to sit down at a small desk.

"Mom, what language is this?" He showed her after opening the book. "It's elfish." She answered. "How am I supposed to learn the spells if I can't even read them?" His brow furrowed. "I guess I'll have to teach you elfish as well." She smiled warmly and he grinned in return. "Great!" He was very excited.

"This is a protection spell." Regina answered after Henry showed her a page that caught his attention. "Put your hand in the center of the page and say firmly:

By the dragons light,  
On this march night,  
I call to thee  
To give me your might,  
By the power of three,  
I conjure thee,  
To protect all that,  
Surrounds me.

His mother told him and he repeated after her, keeping his intent focused on the spell, much better than what his birthmother had done in her first sorcery session in Neverland, or her second in Regina's vault.

After he finished casting his first spell, a circle of white light shone around him; rising from the floor and up to the ceiling, to finally disappear behind a trail of tiny balls of light that slowly dissipated. "Wow, that was so cool!" He told her and Regina smiled proudly. "Now you're protected from black magic for the rest of the day and night." She told him.

"So no one can curse me?" He asked her. "Not today. And certainly not for as long as I live." She wrapped an arm around him and walked to the exit. "Enough magic for a day." She pulled the book from his grasp and he scowled. "Not fair. I thought it was mine now." He complained. "And it is but..." She reconsidered. "You may keep it, but don't let anyone see you with it." His mother said with a serious tone. "I won't." He promised.

Time had run too fast for Regina's liking and the sun was already starting to set._ Incredible how the perception of time changes when you're enjoying yourself. _"Are you hungry?" Regina asked her son. "Famished!" He replied quickly. "We missed lunch because of our magic lessons." Regina told him but Henry didn't mind on the slightest; he had a sparkle of joy in hazel eyes. "Granny's?" He asked his mother tentatively. "If it doesn't bother you." Regina responded slowly. "Nope." He answered without a second thought.

* * *

When they came through Granny's door, the noise of cheerful talk quickly turned down. Regina glanced around and then moved with Henry further into the diner. "We'd like a table." She said to a waitress named Stacey. "Over here, Madame Mayor." She promptly guided them to a table that had just cleared and cleaned it quickly. "I'll be back to take your order in a moment." The waitress nervously excused herself and gave them the menus before leaving.

Talk resumed in the diner and both Regina and Henry could distinguish the Mayor's name from time to time through the murmurs, but pretended not to hear for the sake of each other. They finally made their order after Stacey returned to check on them and it took other several minutes to receive their food, as the place was more packed than usual.

Everyone seemed to have come with the only purpose to have a look at the waitress that conquered the Mayor's heart and whenever Elsa showed up, eyes would follow her every move in hope of seeing her and Regina have a compromising display of affection to confirm the rumors. But Elsa didn't want to embarrass the Mayor and kept herself distant, pretending not to know she was even there. She had accepted working the evening shift as well, so she could have the whole Sunday for herself (and Regina).

Another customer came with his wife through the door and when the _star waitress_ was walking with a food tray in her hands, she suddenly let it drop to the floor. All eyes immediately went to watch Elsa but for her it was as if the room had faded to black and there was only her and the Dark Wizard floating in space.

"You…" Elsa narrowed her eyes on him and slowly walked closer but Rumplestiltskin couldn't really recognize her with her waitress uniform and without magic shooting involuntarily from her hands. Belle looked at the other woman and then back at Rumplestiltskin. "Do you know each other?" She asked him in bewilderment. "I'm not sure." He tried to recall her face but it was the silver glimmer in ice-cold eyes what reminded the Dark One who that person was. "This can't be possible." He mumbled.

People continued staring and wondering at the strange change of vibration in the diner; the air thick with something they couldn't comprehend. _Was it black magic? _They started to feel nervous. "Elsa." It was Regina's voice and her touch what made Elsa stop in time before summoning her magic in public sight.

"What's going on here?" Granny came from the kitchen and looked around. "Take your dirty laundry to your own territory." The old woman muttered and Regina twitched her lip in disapproval or her comment. "Everything is fine. Right, Rumplestiltskin?" Regina looked at him with scorn and he grimaced. "I wouldn't worry about me, dearie. I'd be more worried about your choice of partner." His tone was patronizing.

Elsa's anger only increased and she took a step forward but Regina tugged on her arm and gently pulled her back. Elsa looked at her questioningly and Regina moved her head slightly in negative. _He isn't worth it._ The waitress could almost hear her saying. "But-" The blonde tried to oppose but Regina interrupted.

"Whomever I choose as my partner is my own concern." The Mayor raised her voice and everyone knew she was directing it to all of them, not just Rumplestiltskin. "If any harm comes to her, rest assured I will bring you to your grave." Regina said with a lower voice and it reminded her subjects about the Evil Queen they had once known.

"Regina, dearie, I merely came here to have a peaceful dinner with my wife. I didn't come to pick up a fight." Rumplestiltskin used a scoffing tone and Regina had to count to ten in order to calm herself. It was so easy to fall into his game of bicker but she wouldn't permit darkness to dictate her actions any longer. _Unless there is no other choice._

"Enjoy your dinner then." Regina stepped aside and the Dark One and his wife went to take seat in a booth that had cleared during their polite quarrel. Rumplestiltskin spared a glance at Elsa and a silvery glare met him briefly. _This isn't over yet._ The younger woman thought and Rumplestiltskin could get the message from her glower.

It was now the Deputy who came through the door, followed by her father; the Sheriff and former King. They both looked at the tense ambient and slowly made it to the bar to ask Ruby about it and everyone else returned to mind their own business.

"What did we miss?" Emma asked her and Ruby leaned forward. "Sooo much!" She exaggerated her demeanor but spoke in a low volume. David glanced at them and decided to take seat in one of the stools while the ladies caught up with gossip.

Regina had returned to her own table with Henry and Elsa retreated to the kitchen to replace the meal she accidentally dropped to the floor. Granny wasn't very pleased but at least there hadn't been a magical fight and she let the girl keep her job. "No more dirty laundry, young lady." She said firmly but with a hint of worry. She had grown fond of the newbie but she wouldn't let her get away with more confrontations like these. "I'm sorry for what happened. It won't repeat." Elsa assured her and left with her order.

"This is on the house." Elsa said to the old couple after serving their plates. "Thank you, Elsa." They said with fondness and smiled. They were regulars at Granny's and had taken a liking to the new waitress. "Don't mind that rancid man." The lady told her and Elsa forced a believable smile. "I won't, Mrs. Patterson." She excused herself.

Elsa was going in direction of the cashier to prepare a bill, when she remembered she had found something unfamiliar in her bedchambers. She went over to Regina and Henry's table and Emma's eyes tracked her movement from a not so far distance like an eagle.

"Regina…" Elsa brought her hand to one of the pockets in her apron. "Yes, dear?" The brunette smiled warmly. "I think you... dropped this." She pulled out the cellphone and Regina's eyes open wider. "Oh. Yes. I think it must have slipped when I reached your arm." The Mayor quickly made up and Emma let a sarcastic laugh out, which drew Regina's attention momentarily her way but then back at Elsa. "Thank you." She smiled as their hands brushed lightly.

"Smooth liars." Emma whispered into her glass of soda before drinking the remaining liquid. "What was that?" David asked curiously and then looked in the direction Emma was staring with disgust. "Something wrong with Regina?" He asked her. "What? No. I was just… thinking aloud." Emma shook her head but David wasn't convinced.

"How are things going with Hook?" He asked tentatively. "It's over." Emma said like it was nothing and his father was even more thrown off. "I swear if he did something-" He became protective but Emma cut him short. "He didn't. It was a mistake… Heat of the moment, nothing else." Emma shrugged and David's brow furrowed.

"Granny's to go." Ruby appeared with a bag and gave it to him. "Thank you, Ruby." He paid her and turned to look at his daughter again. "Are you sure you don't want to join us home?" He insisted. "Thanks, Dad, but I prefer to stick around in case there's a face off between _the_ _Evil Queen_ and _the Dark One_." She said mockingly and David surrendered. Emma was just in an insufferable mood._ Maybe that time of the month. _He planted a kiss to her forehead and waved a hand at Henry. "See you tomorrow, young man."

Regina paid their dinner soon after and got up to leave together with Henry. Elsa's shift wouldn't be over until they closed, so she decided to see her tomorrow and as they were leaving the small diner, Emma continued to follow the Mayor's movements like a hawk but it was Ruby who cut her focus. She popped right in front of her sight and asked her what the hell was going on with her hideous attitude.

"Spit it out! You've been avoiding me for days." Ruby told her and Emma growled. "So?" The waitress demanded. "I broke up with Hook." Emma answered lazily. "Finally! I knew that wouldn't go anywhere." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Then what do you want to know, Rubes?" Emma was mortified. "Tell me what's up with you and Regina. You keep glaring at her and Elsa, I could almost swear you look jealous." Ruby told her.

"She stood me up." Emma muttered. "She?" Ruby narrowed her gaze. "Regina… Remember the other day? When I asked you for her usual?" The blonde reminded her. "Oh, right! So that was for her… and the supper you mentioned." Ruby finally tied one and another. "Well, it's obvious now who Regina went with instead." Emma let out a deep sigh. "Ouch." Ruby uttered.

"Ruby! Get off your ass and clean that table!" Granny shouted from the service window and Ruby rolled her eyes. "That sucks. I'm so sorry for you but I gotta go. Please don't do anything stupid." Ruby squeezed her shoulder and left.

"Wait. What? Why do you say that?" Emma questioned but Ruby was too far to hear her and it was another person who answered. "Because I will be there to stop you." Elsa approached her. "Really?" Emma stood up from her stool to bring herself to full height and she was just as tall as the other woman without heels on. "Stay away from Regina." Elsa looked coldly into green eyes. "Or what?" Emma challenged. "You don't want to find out." Elsa replied calmly.

"Listen, _your_ _Majesty_. In case it passed you, Regina and I have a son and I will _always_ be in their lives." Emma's tone was condescending and she winked an eye after finishing her sentence. "I know you both share Henry and I will respect that bond, but I won't allow you to use him as a pretext to continue clouding her judgment." Elsa told her as she picked up her empty glass.

"I see Ruby forgot to refill your drink." She said and Emma looked at her as she moved to the fountain and then slipped a new drink over the counter. It slowly started freezing as she pushed it in Emma's direction until it turned into hard ice. "We wouldn't want you complaining about our lack of warmth." It was Elsa this time who winked an eye back. "Enjoy your drink, because that's _all_ you're getting."

Emma's brow furrowed and a sarcastic half smile appeared in a side her mouth. She watched as Elsa disappeared inside the kitchen and pulled some money from her pocket to place it over the counter with anger. "As dangerous as you know me and Regina to be, this peculiar woman could turn out far worse." Rumplestiltskin said behind her and Emma jolted.

"Forgive my manners. I didn't mean to startle you, Savior." He apologized and turned to continue his path toward the door. "Why is she here? What does she want with you?" Emma asked him. "I don't know and… It's none of your business." He ignored her and continued walking. "Rumple, you owe us some answers." Belle tugged on his arm and he looked at her and then returned a deep sigh. "We'll see in my vault."

* * *

_A/N: The restaurant I mentioned actually exists. lol You can google it._

_ It's so funny that the SQF threesome keeps on being requested. (lol) I know it's intended for humor but I don't think I could pull it off without making it utterly ridiculous. Haha! I love this fandom. You're nutz!_

_SQF.- Imagine Elsa and Emma agreeing to share Regina because neither of them wants to part from her side, so they settle their differences for the sake of not loosing their honeybee queen and slowly cease from disliking each other and build a good family together for Henry. End of threesome ficlet. lol There! _


End file.
